At a glance
We delivered another quarter of positive performance, which reflects the progress we’re making in creating a simple, more agile, growing HSBC.
For the quarter ended 31 March 2026
Highlights:
- Profit before tax was broadly stable compared with 1Q25, while revenue grew by 4%, both excluding notable items
- Reported profit before tax was $0.1bn lower at $9.4bn, including the impact of notable items (see ‘Context behind the numbers’ below)
- We approved a first interim dividend for 2026 of $0.10 per share
- Annualised return on average tangible equity (RoTE) was 17.3%, or 18.7% excluding notable items
- Banking net interest income (NII) increased by $0.7bn to $11.3bn, compared with 1Q25
- Our common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio was 14.0% (see ‘Context behind the numbers’ below)
Group CEO
“We continued to make positive progress in creating a simple, more agile, growing HSBC.
“Each of our four businesses contributed to firm-wide revenue growth and each delivered an annualised RoTE in excess of 17%, excluding notable items.
“In periods of greater uncertainty, customers turn to us more as their trusted partner to navigate complexity with the financial strength, stability and expertise they know they can rely on.
“We remain confident in achieving the targets we set out in February 2026.”
Georges Elhedery, HSBC Group CEO
5 May 2026
Growing our businesses
Each of our four businesses – Hong Kong, UK, Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB), and International Wealth and Premier Banking (IWPB) – grew revenues.
Outlook
The macroeconomic outlook is facing heightened uncertainty. The Group is well-positioned to manage the impacts of these challenges, and supporting our clients through this volatile period is a top priority.
We retain all of the Group financial targets we announced at our full year 2025 annual results in February 2026, including a RoTE of 17% or better for 2026, 2027 and 2028, excluding notable items.
We now expect banking NII of around $46bn in 2026, reflecting an improved interest rate outlook, while recognising the outlook remains volatile and uncertain.
We now expect ECL charges (expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges) as a percentage of average gross loans to be around 45bps in 2026 (including loans held for sale balances), reflecting ongoing uncertainty in the outlook. Over the medium term, we retain our planning range of 30-40bps.
We retain our commitment to Group-wide cost discipline. We’re continuing to target growth in target basis operating expenses of approximately 1%, compared with 2025.
We intend to continue to manage our CET1 capital ratio within our medium-term target range of 14.0% to 14.5%. A decision to recommence buybacks will be subject to our normal buyback considerations and process on a quarterly basis.
Context behind the numbers
The decrease in reported profit before tax reflected higher expected credit losses and other credit impairment charges in 1Q26, an adverse impact from notable items and a rise in operating expenses. This was partly offset by revenue growth, which included strong growth in Wealth fee and other income.
Notable items in 1Q26 included a disposal loss on classification to held for sale of $0.3bn associated with the planned sale of our business in Malta. They also included losses of $0.2bn from the recycling of foreign currency translation reserves following the completion of the sale of our UK life insurance business.
Our CET1 capital ratio of 14.0% decreased by 0.9 percentage points compared with 4Q25, reflecting the impact of the privatisation of Hang Seng Bank, dividends and an increase in risk-weighted assets, partly offset by regulatory profit.