HSBC has kept its 2026 guidance intact after a third quarter in which profit before tax rose 32% to $9.6bn, saying it still expects banking net interest income of at least $46bn for the year.
The bank also reiterated its target of a return on tangible equity (a measure of profit relative to shareholders' equity, excluding intangibles) of 17% or better for 2026, 2027 and 2028, excluding one-off items.
It expects an expected credit loss charge of around 45 basis points of average gross customer loans in 2026. Credit losses are provisions against loans that may go bad, and a basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Operating expenses are on track to grow by about 1% on a target basis this year. HSBC warned that extra performance-related pay could lift that modestly if strong trading continues.
The bank said it would start a new share buy-back of up to $1bn, to be completed by its full-year results. It completed a $1bn buy-back on 28 September.
A third interim dividend of $0.10 a share was approved, payable on 17 December.
Georges Elhedery, the chief executive, said clients were turning to HSBC "to navigate uncertainty and seize new opportunities".
Much of the profit increase came from the absence of $1.4bn of legal provisions booked in the same quarter last year. Stripping out such notable items and currency effects, profit before tax rose $0.9bn to $10.0bn.
Revenue climbed $0.8bn to $18.6bn, driven by banking net interest income, which rose $0.6bn to $11.7bn. Net interest margin was flat at 1.57%.
Credit losses fell 17% to $0.8bn, helped by lower charges on Hong Kong commercial property. For the first nine months, however, they rose $0.2bn to $3.2bn, including $0.5bn on a fraud-related exposure to a financial sponsor in the UK.
Return on tangible equity was 17.7% in the quarter, against 12.3% a year earlier.
Operating costs fell 12% to $8.8bn, though on a target basis they rose 1.4%.
The common equity tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, slipped 0.2 percentage points to 13.9% from the end of June. That is below HSBC's target range of 14% to 14.5%. Higher risk-weighted assets, partly from India deposit scheme activity, and bond losses driven by higher yields were the main causes.
HSBC expects the final Basel 3.1 rules to add 40 to 50 basis points to the ratio from 1 January 2027.
Profit before tax for the nine months rose 26% to $29.2bn.
In wealth, net new money in the first nine months reached $105bn, with $95bn booked in Asia. Wealth balances rose 3% to $1.6tn.
The bank continues to shrink its footprint. In the quarter it sold its Uruguay operations and announced the sale of its Australian retail loans and the planned wind-down of the rest of that business.
