【英语财经】汇丰第四季意外亏损8.58亿美元 HSBC probed over Asian hiring

HSBC is being investigated by US authorities over its hiring of people linked to Asian governments, adding to the bank’s litigation worries, which helped drag it to a fourth-quarter loss.

The bank said yesterday that it was one of “multiple financial institutions” being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its Asian hiring practices, an issue that has also plagued US lenders such as JPMorgan Chase.

Stuart Gulliver, chief executive, said the SEC had widened its investigation from a group of US banks to include several international groups with operations in Asia.

In the fourth quarter, the cost of settling litigation and of compensating UK customers for mis-sold insurance products cost HSBC more than $700m, dragging it to a surprise $858m loss for the period. The loss — at odds with analyst forecasts of a profit — came in a year of weak lending, restructuring costs and higher bad loan charges.

The bank returned to annual pre-tax profit growth for 2015, but only by a whisker. Pre-tax profits of $18.9bn grew just 1 per cent in 2015 — an improvement on the 17 per cent drop between 2013 and 2014. Charges made for bad loans rose 17 per cent at $3.7bn, driven by increased provisions for oil and gas exposure in the fourth quarter.

It took a $400m impairment charge against its $29bn oil and gas book. Mr Gulliver said that just over two-thirds of its exposure was to state-owned companies and oil majors, adding: “It is a pretty strong book, actually.”

Douglas Flint, chairman, said the bank’s “diversified business model and balance sheet strength” would provide resilience against a slowdown in Chinese economic growth and a “bumpier financial environment”.

The results provide the first clear picture of HSBC since it announced a “pivot to Asia” last yearinvolving shedding $5bn of costs and 50,000 jobs while shifting a sizeable chunk of its assets to more profitable areas, such as China.

HSBC allayed fears among analysts that it would end its progressive dividend policy, lifting its annual payout from 50 cents to 51 cents.

Net profit inched down to $13.5bn last year, while revenues slid from $61.3bn to $59.8bn. Return on equity slipped from 7.3 to 7.2 per cent, well below management’s target of at least 10 per cent.

美国当局正就汇丰银行(HSBC)雇佣亚洲国家政府关联人士对其进行调查，这添加了外界对该行陷入法律纠纷的担忧，诉讼已促使该行第四季度出现亏损。

汇丰昨日表示，该行是美国证券交易委员会(SEC)就亚洲雇佣行为进行调查的“多家金融机构”之一。这个问题也困扰着摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)等美资银行。

汇丰首席执行官欧智华(Stuart Gulliver)表示，美国证交会已拓宽调查范围，从一组美国的银行扩大到包括几家在亚洲运营的国际集团。

第四季度，为解决诉讼和支付向英国客户不当销售保险产品的赔偿金，汇丰花费了逾7亿美元，使其在该季度意外亏损8.58亿美元。这与分析师预测的盈利结果相左。去年期间，汇丰经历了贷款疲弱、重组成本，以及不良贷款减损支出上升。

2015年汇丰恢复了年度税前利润增长，但幅度很小，其税前利润达到189亿美元，仅增长1%，但相对于2013-14年间17%的下跌已是改善。由于第四季度针对石油和天然气敞口计提的拨备增加，不良贷款减损支出上升17%，至37亿美元。

针对总值290亿美元的石油和天然气贷款账簿，汇丰计入4亿美元的减损支出。欧智华表示，略微超过三分之二的敞口是对国有企业和大型石油公司，他补充道：“这实际上是一本相当强劲的贷款账簿。”

汇丰董事长范智廉(Douglas Flint)表示，该行“多元化的业务模式和资产负债表实力”将提供应对中国经济增长放缓和“更为动荡的金融环境”的弹性。

自去年汇丰宣布“转向亚洲”(pivot to Asia)战略（涉及削减50亿美元成本和裁减5万工作岗位，同时将相当一部分资产转移至中国等更有利可图的地区）以后，这些结果首度提供了有关汇丰的清晰图景。

汇丰消除了分析师对于该行可能结束逐年提高股息政策的忧虑，将年度股息从50美分提高至51美分。

去年净利润小幅下降至135亿美元，而营收从613亿美元下滑至598亿美元。股本回报率从7.3%下滑至7.2%，远低于至少10%的管理层目标。

译者/石斛