25 October 2021 – In its Q3 2021 earnings release, HSBC announced a $2 billion share buyback and posted a 74% increase in third-quarter profit, making it the latest global lender to turn bullish on the economic outlook nearly two years after the start of the pandemic. Earnings were given a big boost by a $659 million release from its reserves for potential bad loans — 85% of which were related to the UK — as fears about a wave of company bankruptcies faded and growth rebounded. “We are seeing multiple signs the UK economy is back,” chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson said on Monday, citing higher credit card spending, mortgage growth and modest default rates. “We have to watch the end of the furlough scheme very carefully… [but] we have good confidence on a strong recovery.”

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker from HSBC, with additional reporting by The Financial Times