{
  "id": 119506,
  "title": "HSBC resumes buyback after big profit jump in first half",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/hsbc-resumes-buyback-after-big-profit-jump-in-first-half",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-04T06:27:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/08/04/hsbc-resumes-buyback-after-big-profit-jump-in-first-half"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "HSBC, the British banking giant, has announced plans to resume buying back up to US$1 billion of its shares following a significant increase in profits during the first half of 2026. The profit surge was attributed to growth in net interest income, higher fee income, and other income, with banking profit increasing by US$1.4 billion. CEO Georges Elhedery expressed confidence in the bank's strategic execution, stating that they are \"becoming the stronger bank we set out to build.\" The company reported a 27% rise in profit attributable to shareholders, reaching US$14.6 billion for the six months to June, up from US$11.5 billion in the previous year. Pre-tax profit also increased by 23% to US$19.5 billion. In a sign of their confidence, HSBC will proceed with the share buy-back and has approved a second interim dividend of US$0.10 per share. The decision to resume share repurchases follows a pause due to the bank's acquisition of Hang Seng Bank. However, the news was tempered by expected credit losses of US$2.4 billion, which include US$400 million higher than the first half of 2025. Additionally, HSBC lost US$400 million in a fraud case and US$200 million in Hong Kong's commercial property sector. The bank has also been pursuing a global restructuring to focus on its core markets, evidenced by a series of recent deals to sell off business units. HSBC's share price has broken through its all-time high this month, trading above HK$160 in Hong Kong.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}