At last, an HSBC wound that isn’t self-inflicted

The London-based lender, which counts Hong Kong as its single largest market, took its biggest charge for bad debt in almost nine years and posted a 51% slump in first-quarter adjusted profit.

HONG KONG: At least no one can blame HSBC Holdings Plc for the coronavirus. After a series of self-inflicted blows, from its muddled search for a new chief executive to a poorly received revamp, the bank joins the rest of the industry in being blindsided by the pandemic.

The London-based lender, which counts Hong Kong as its single largest market, took its biggest charge for bad debt in almost nine years and posted a 51% slump in first-quarter adjusted profit. Expected credit losses swelled to US$3bil in the period, almost double estimates, and could reach as much as US$11bil for the full year.