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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
James Andrews

HSBC to cut 35,000 jobs over the next three years and sell assets

HSBC has said it will cut 35,000 jobs and offload assets as part of a plan to become more competitive.

In August the company announced 4,700 job cuts from its then workforce of 238,000.

The bank reported a 33% fall in pre-tax profit for 2019 to £10.2 billion, below analysts' expectations and those of its own chief executive.

Chief executive Noel Quinn said: "As we pursue our plan to deliver greater value for our customers and shareholders, we will continue to seek to grow the parts of the business where we are strongest.

"However, given the changed economic environment, we must also act decisively to reshape areas of persistent underperformance, particularly in Global Banking and Markets in Europe and the US. We also aim to simplify the Group to accelerate the pace of change and reduce the size of its cost base.

"This should create a leaner, simpler and more competitive Group that is better positioned to deliver higher returns for investors."

 

Profits were hit by "a goodwill impairment" of £5.6 billion.

"This arose from an update to long-term economic growth assumptions, which impacted a number of our businesses," HSBC's annual results statement said.

Quinn said more was expected of the company.

He said: "The group's 2019 performance was resilient, however parts of our business are not delivering acceptable returns."

The bank has its headquarters in London but almost half of its revenue and nearly 90% of its profits in 2018 came from Asia, with much of that coming from Hong Kong.

Most of HSBC's profits come from Asia (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

 

HSBC said it will "continue to monitor the recent coronavirus outbreak, which is causing economic disruption in Hong Kong and mainland China and may impact performance in 2020".

"Depending on how the situation develops, there is the potential for any associated economic slowdown to impact our expected credit losses in Hong Kong and mainland China."

The HSBC statement also addressed Brexit, saying that: "Now that the UK has officially left the EU, negotiations can begin on their future relationship.

"This has provided some certainty, but no trade negotiation is ever straightforward. It is essential that the eventual agreement protects and fosters the many benefits that financial services provide to both the UK and the EU."

It added that as well as remaining close to Europe, the UK must also strengthen its links with other key partners, including the US, China and south-east Asia.

Quinn said he and his team had begun implementing a plan to "increase returns for investors, create the capacity for future investment, and build a platform for sustainable growth".

The restructure involves "consolidating" of some parts of the business and "reorganising the global functions and head office".

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