HSBC 2015 net profit down 1.2 per cent at USD 13.52 bn

Hong Kong, Feb 22: Global banking giant HSBC announced today its results for 2015 which fell below analysts' expectations after what it called "seismic shifts" in the world economy.

The bank said net profit dropped 1.2 per cent to USD 13.52 billion from the previous year. Group chairman Douglas Flint described the performance as "broadly satisfactory" in a statement, although the bank's pre-tax profit of USD 18.9 billion missed analysts' forecast of USD 21.8 billion.

HSBC also posted a fourth quarter pre-tax loss of USD 858 million, compared with the USD 1.95 billion profit forecast by the average of five analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

It comes after a turbulent year which saw a market rout in China and commodity prices plunge as well as tightening credit due to a US rates hike. Last year HSBC announced a radical overhaul as it sought to boost profits and move past scandals that have scarred the British lender, including the rigging of foreign exchange markets.

The restructuring included the axing of 50,000 jobs globally. CEO Stuart Gulliver said in a statement today that those cost-reduction measures were "already having an impact". "HSBC is now a leaner business," he said.

But after announcing last year that it would shed operations in Brazil and Turkey as part of cost slashing, Gulliver said the Turkey business would now remain.

"We have received a number of offers for our business in Turkey since June, none of which were deemed to be in the best interests of shareholders. We have therefore decided to retain and restructure our Turkish operations," Gulliver said. Flint confirmed that the disposal of the Brazil business was almost complete.

AFP