The lender’s profit posted a profit of $2.61bn in the April-June quarter on year-over-year basis, while its profit before tax declined by 45% to $3.61bn in the quarter.

Overall, its profit fell 29% to $9.7bn in the first half of this year compared to $13.6bn in the same period a year earlier.

HSBC group chief executive Stuart Gulliver said: “Following the successful sale of our Brazil business and having received the appropriate regulatory clearances, I am pleased to announce that we will execute a share buy-back of up to $2.5bn, which should benefit all shareholders and demonstrates the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet.”

The bank has received regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority to commence the buy-back.

In June, Banco Bradesco received an approval from the Brazil’s antitrust regulator to acquire HSBC’s local unit for $5.2bn in an all-cash deal.

The deal is expected to lessen HSBC's risk weighted assets by around $40bn.

Gulliver added: “In the first half of the year we removed an extra $48bn of risk-weighted assets from the business, around half of which came from Global Banking and Markets. This takes us more than 60% of the way towards our target and keeps us on track to deliver the savings we promised by the end of 2017.”

Last year, HSBC announced a three-year restructuring plan that involved shutting down of underperforming units to raise its revenue. Its earnings were pressurized by an increase in compliance costs, penalties, and low interest rates.

The restructuring plan will eliminate one-sixth of its employees in Britain. Its headcount stood at 47,000 in the UK by the end of December last year.


Image: HSBC building, Singapore. Photo courtesy of HSBC.