HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, said yesterday that pre-tax profits during the third quarter were “significantly ahead” compared with the equivalent period a year earlier.
In a trading update that did not provide figures, HSBC also said that its expenses linked to loan defaults fell to their lowest quarterly level in more than a year.
“Pre-tax profit for the third quarter of 2009 was significantly ahead of the third quarter 2008,” HSBC said in a statement.
“Driven by stabilized credit performance in the US, loan impairment charges have fallen to their lowest quarterly level for over a year,” chief executive Michael Geoghegan added
Meanwhile, Barclays yesterday reported sharp falls for third-quarter net profits as the British banking group’s bad debts soared.
Barclays said in a statement that profit after tax slumped 54 percent to £1.075 billion (US$1.79 billion) in the three months to Sept. 30 compared with the outcome for the third quarter of last year.
Net profits slumped 29 percent to £2.73 billion in the first nine months of the year.
Shrugging off the falls in profit, Barclays chief executive John Varley said the group had “maintained strong income momentum in the third quarter,” particularly at its investment banking arm Barclays Capital.
In Switzerland, Julius Baer said yesterday that its client assets grew 22 percent to 234 billion Swiss francs (US$232 million) by the end of last month compared with the end of last year amid a recovery in the financial markets.
“The continued recovery of most investment categories until recently resulted in a positive market performance, while the currency impact remained neutral overall,” the Swiss private bank said in a 10-month interim statement.
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