HSBC Brazil unit sold to banco Bradesco for £3.3bn, $5.2bn

HSBC Holidngs PLC agreed to sell its Brazilian business Banco for £ 3.3 bn , $5.2bn. HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank by assets, announced a 10 per cent rise in profits for the first half of the year that beat all analyst expectations. 

The bank which has threatened to move its headquarters out of the UK,  their pre-tax profit rose to £8.7bn, $13.6bn in the 6 months to June 30, up from £7.87bn, $12.3bn a year ago. Their revenues also increased from £19.90bn, $31.1bn to £21.06bn, $32.9bn.

Stuart Gulliver, HSBC chief executive said ” We are executing the actions that we announced at our investor update in June and our focus is on making significant progress during the remainder of the year.” 

The bank, said back in June that it would pivot its business back to Asia, where its Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank has been operating for 150 years.

The Bank’s first half results also contained £0.92bn $1.43bn in provisions for legal proceedings and regulatory matters, including an extra £480m, $750m provision to cover the potential cost of investigations into alleged manipulation of the foreign exchange markets by HSBC and an extra £58.24, $91m to cover the cost of compensation for mis-selling payment protection insurance in the UK. HSBC  profits were boosted  by a strong performance in Asia where equity market volatility has helped the bank’s earnings. The global banking and markets division increased adjusted profits by 12 percent  driven by strong performance in equities and foreign exchange trading. HSBC shares closed up 0.3 per cent in London.