HSBC said on Tuesday it intends to launch a share buyback of up to $1bn, after third-quarter pre-tax profit rose 32% to $9.6bn from a year earlier.
The bank expects to complete the new buyback by its 2026 full-year results. A separate $1bn buyback, announced with the interim results, was completed on 28 September. The board also approved a third interim dividend of $0.10 per share.
The profit rise was flattered by one-off items. Net favourable notable items (amounts HSBC strips out to show underlying performance) came to $1.4bn, because the third quarter of 2025 carried legal provisions of the same size. Pre-tax profit in that quarter was $7.3bn.
Stripping out those items and holding currency constant, pre-tax profit rose by $0.9bn to $10.0bn.
Revenue rose 5% to $18.6bn, from $17.8bn a year earlier, mainly on higher banking net interest income (NII, the interest earned on lending and deposits after funding costs).
Banking NII increased by $0.6bn to $11.7bn. Group NII was $9.3bn, up 6%, and net interest margin was 1.57%, unchanged from a year earlier.
Expected credit losses fell 17% to $0.8bn, helped by lower charges on Hong Kong commercial property.
Operating expenses were $8.8bn, down 12%, which reflected the absence of the earlier legal provisions.
Annualised return on average tangible equity was 17.7%, against 12.3% a year earlier. Excluding notable items it was 18.2%.
Group chief executive Georges Elhedery said the bank was simplifying its business and building room to reward investors. "As we simplify HSBC, we are creating greater capacity to invest, grow and deliver strong returns for our shareholders," he said.
The common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio, a measure of core capital against risk-weighted assets, was 13.9%. That is down 0.2 percentage points from 30 June.
HSBC attributed the fall to higher risk-weighted assets, a lower fair value of certain debt instruments as yields rose, and the earlier buyback, partly offset by profits net of dividends.
The ratio sits below the 14% to 14.5% range the bank intends to manage within over the medium term. HSBC said final Basel 3.1 rules should add about 40 to 50 basis points to the ratio at 1 January 2027.
The bank kept its guidance for banking NII of at least $46bn in 2026. It also repeated its aim of a return on tangible equity of 17% or better in each of 2026, 2027 and 2028, excluding notable items.
The latest buyback is smaller than the $3bn programme HSBC completed on 24 October 2025.
For the first nine months of 2026, pre-tax profit was $29.2bn, up 26% on the same period of 2025, including a $3.7bn net favourable swing from notable items.
