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HASLINDA AMIN RIGHT NOW.
HASLINDA: THANK YOU. THE BIGGEST BANK IN EUROPE RELEASED ITS EARNINGS. HSBC PROFIT EXPECTATION AS ITS WEALTH BUSINESS HAS ANOTHER STRONG YEAR. 29.9 BILLION DOLLARS. TOPPING ESTIMATES. THE CEO SAID 2025 WAS A YEAR OF DECISIVE ACTION AS IT PUSHED THROUGH SWEEPING RESTRUCTURING AND AN ASIA-FOCUSED STRATEGY. SHARES HAVE SURGED ALMOST 90% SINCE HE TOOK OVER IN 2024. JOINING US NOW IS HSBC'S CEO HIMSELF. GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US. A BEAT PRETTY MUCH ACROSS THE BOARD. WE HAVE ALL FOUR BUSINESS DOING WELL, YOU SAY. WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE SHAREHOLDERS TO WALK AWAY WITH?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, HASLINDA FOR HAVING ME. INDEED, WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THE 2025 RESULTS. I THINK THE KEY MESSAGE TO TAKE FORWARD IS NUMBER ONE, WE ARE PERFORMING AND THIS PERFORMANCE IS DELIVERING GOOD EARNINGS, STRONG EARNINGS AND DELIVERING STRONG GROWTH IN ALL FOUR BUSINESSES AND KEY INDICATORS THAT WE LOOK AT AND DISTRIBUTIONS, SHAREHOLDERS WITH THE INCREASE OF DIVIDEND BY 14%, 745 CENTS PER DOLLAR. THE SECOND KEY MESSAGE IS THAT WE ARE TRANSFORMING WITH PRECISION, WITH DISCIPLINE AND DOING IT AT PACE AND WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO CONCLUDE THE NUMBER OF ACTIONS THAT WE SET OUT TO DO EARLY IN THE PLAN AND THE THIRD ACTION, THE THIRD KEY TAKEAWAY IS THAT WE ARE CONFIDENT IN OUR ABILITY TO MEETS OUR UPGRADE TARGETS AND INVESTING FOR GROWTH TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER GROWTH. WE SHARE THAT WE EXPECT NOW FOR 26, 27 AND 28, WE TARGETED FOR 26, 27, 28 REVENUE GROWING EVERY YEAR RISING TO 5% IN 28 AND TARGETED A RETURN ON TANGIBLE EQUITY EXCLUDED NOTABLE ITEMS FOR EACH OF THESE THREE YEARS FOR 17% OR HIGHER.
HASLINDA: THERE ARE STILL SOME CONCERNS THE HONG KONG AND CHINESE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE WEIGHING ON YOUR NUMBERS. YOU BOOK A CHARGE OF 700 MILLION DOLLARS. WHAT ARE YOU ANTICIPATING. WHEN DO YOU SEE A TURNAROUND?
FIRST HONG KONG REMAINS STRUCTURALLY A HIGH GROWTH ECONOMY. WE HAVE STRONG CONVICTION AND OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE FOR US IN HONG KONG. WE HAVE A MARKET LEADERSHIP POSITION. TESTAMENT TO THAT AS YOU CALLED OUT EARLIER IS THE PRIVATIZATION OF HANG SENG BANK WHICH WE COMPLETED AHEAD OF TIME. THE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIESARE MULTIPLE. HONG KONG IS ON TRACK. WE HAVE THE LEADERSHIP POSITION TO CAPTURE THESE OPPORTUNITIES. HONG KONG A MAJOR TRADING HUB AND CONNECTED BETWEEN MAINLAND AND THE WORLD AND THOSE FLOWS WE HAVE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN CAPTURING THESE OPPORTUNITIES. THESE UNDERLYING STRUCTURAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIESARE REAL. IN SO FAR AS THE HONG KONG COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IS CONCERNED. THIS IS A CYCLE. WE KNOW THIS MARKET VERY WELL. 161 YEARS IN THIS MARKET. IF IT IS A CYCLE WHEN WE LOOK THROUGH THE CYCLE, WE ARE CONSTRUCT I AND POSITIVE ABOUT THE MEDIUM TO LONG-TERM. WE ALREADY SEE SIRENS NORMALIZATION IN THE RESIDENTIAL SPACE AND SEE SOME EASING BECAUSE OF INTEREST RATES COMING OFF. AND WE WILL SUPPORT OUR CUSTOMERS IN THE SHORT-TERM BUT REMAIN CONSTRUCTIVE HOW IT WILL EVOLVE IN THE MEDIUM TO LONG-TERM.
HASLINDA: PRETTY HAPPY WITH HOW HANG SENG BANK IS GOING. I'M WONDERING WHETHER YOU WILL USE IT AS A TEMPLATE FOR FUTURE M&A'S?
WE ARE VERY PLEASED WE COMPLETED THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE BANK WELL AHEAD OF PLANNED WE'RE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS WHAT WE EXPECT AS AN UPSIDE. WE HAVE NOW MANAGEMENT AMBITION AND COMPREHENSIVE PLANS TO ACHIEVE $9 BILLION OF UPSIDE IN TERMS OF SYNERGIES. BEFORE THE ON THE OTHER HAND 2028. ROUGHLY HALF DRIVEN BY COST SYNERGIES. THE OTHER HALF RELATED TO REVENUE SYNERGIES.
HASLINDA: ARE YOU LOOKING AT MORE ACQUISITIONS?
YES. ON THAT BROADER QUESTION ABOUT ACQUISITION, WE SET OUT IN FEBRUARY 2025, A HIGH BAR STRICT CRITERIA TO DEFINE WHEN WE GO FOR ACQUISITIONS THAT WE NEED TO MEET ALL OF THOSE FOUR CRITERIA. THEY ARE THAT IT IS STRATEGY, THAT IT WILL DELIVER SCALE OR CAPABILITIES, THAT IT DOES NOT DISTRACT US FROM ORGANIC GROWTH AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF ORGANIC GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES INHERENT AND THAT IT IS MORE CREATIVE IN THE SHARE BUYBACK IN THE WAY WE USE OUR CAPITAL.
HASLINDA: SINCE YOU TOOK OVER AS CEO OF THE COMPANY, YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH FOCUSED ON RESTRUCTURING. ARE YOU ALMOST DONE OR IS THERE A NEED FOR RADICAL CHANGES?
WE'RE MOVING AT PACE, WITH PRECISION, DISCIPLINE. WE BASICALLY COMMUNICATED THIS MORNING THAT WE ARE EXPECTING FOR BIG PARTS OF THIS TO BE ABLE TO DELIVERS IT SIX MONTH AHEAD OF PLAN. IN PARTICULAR, WE ALREADY HAVE DONE LEADERSHIP REORGANIZATION. WE ALREADY HAVE CHANGED OUR BUSINESS SETUP TO REFLECT OUR STRUCTURE OR OUR STRUCTURE TO REFLECT OUR STRATEGY. THAT IS DONE. ALL BUSINESSES HAVE MATURED NICELY. ALL HAVE GROWN THEIR DEPUTIES AND REVENUE. ALL HAVE GENERATED HIGHER RETURNS AND WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE THERE. WE'RE MOVING AT PACE. WE EXPECT NOW TO HAVE TAKEN ALL OF THESE DECISION BEFORE JUNE 2026. SIX MONTHS AHEAD OF PLAN AND WE'RE MOVING AT PACE. EXITING NONSTRATEGIC OR -- ACTIVITIES. SO WE CAN TAKE FROM THESE AREAS AND REINVEST IN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE COMPETITIVE EDGE AND DRIVING RETURNS AND WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO GROW AND ALL OF THIS IS MOVING AT PACE.
HASLINDA: ARE YOU ALSO DONE WITH JOB CUTS AND WHEN IT COMES TO HEAD COUNT AND HIRING IN THE FUTURE. GIVEN WHERE AI IS HEADED ARE YOU LOOKING AT HOW YOU HIGHER THE LOWER LEVEL POSITIONS IN THE BANK?
THE WORK WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF SIMPIFICATION IS FOCUSED ON SIMPLIFYING THE BANK, ITS PROCESS, ITS SETSUP. WE'RE NOT FOCUSING ON JOBS PER SE. JOBS IS JUST AN OUTCOME IN SO FAR AS SOME OF THESE ACTIONS ARE TAKEN. WE REMAIN FOCUSED ON BUILDING A HIGH PERFORMING TEAM. OUR COMMERCE EXPECTS THE BEST FROM US. WE REMAIN FOCUSED ON HIRING AND RETAKE TOP TALENT AND WE DO SO IN VARIOUS WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALSO THE RIGHT TALENT FOR THE FUTURE. WE DO SO BY ALSO PROVIDING TRAINING AND SKILLS UP OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SURE OUR WORK FORCE IS AS ABLE AS POSSIBLE AND MAKING AVAILABILITY AT SCALE TO ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES, GENERATE AI TOOLS TO ALLOW THEM TO UPSCALE AND REMAIN FUTURE READY AND ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE AND PERFORM IN THE WORLD IN THE FUTURE.
HASLINDA: THE BONUS POOL IS UP BY 10%. WE KNOW THAT SOME OF YOUR BANKERS WILL BE ESG EITHER REDUCED OR NO BONUS AT ALL. I'M WONDERING WHAT THE COMPENSATION STRUCTURE IS YOU'RE LOOKING AT IN THE FUTURE.
COMPENSATION HAS TO BE FAIR AND COMPETITIVE BUT EQUALLY HAS TO BE DIFFERENTIATED TO REFLECT TALENT AND TALENT CONTRIBUTION AND PERFORMANCE. WE EXPECT THIS DIFFERENTIATION TO CONTINUE AS WE EMBED THE HIGH PERFORMANCE -- AT HSBC AND WE EXPECT IT TO BE ABLE AS I SAID EARLIER TO ATTRACT, HIRE AND RETAIN TALENT AS WE SERVE OUR COMMERCE AND MOVE INTO THE FUTURE.
HASLINDA: JUST BEFORE YOU GO, THE BIGGEST RISK FOR HSBC IN THE NEXT 12-24 MONTHS?
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
HASLINDA: GEORGE, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE NEED TO INVEST TO CAPTURE THE GROWTH THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?
IT REFLECTS ALL THE AREAS WHERE WE BELIEVE GROWTH OPPORTUNITY IS REAL AND WE ARE INVEGAS. I CAN CALL OUT WEALTH, ASIA IN THE MIDDLE EAST. A LEADER IN WEALTH MANAGEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IT IS AN UNDERLYING INTENSICLY HIGH GROWTH MARKET AND TO GAIN MARKET SHARE IN THE SPACE. IF YOU LOOK AT TRANSACTION BANKING, OUR CAPABILITIES ARE TREMENDOUS. THEY CONNECT WORLD IN THE WAY UNPARALLELED TO THE U.S. IS OF OUR CUSTOMERS IN PARTICULAR WE ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE THE INTRAASIA MIDDLE EAST CONFIGURATION SUPPLY CHAINS AND GROWTH INVESTMENT CORRIDORS AND OUR POSITION THERE IS A POWER PAUSE MEANS INVESTMENT WILL ALLOW US TO CONSOLIDATE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE U.K., WE HAVE SEEN THE HIGHEST KNOWN GROWTH FOR BUSINESSES IN THE U.K. AND THE HIGHEST IN THE U.K. THAN NIGGLIER THE LAST FEW YEARS. SO IT IS A VERY ENCOURAGING AREA THAT WE CONTINUE TO INVEST. OUR BUSINESSES ARE -- ARE GEARED FOR GROWTH.
HASLINDA: IT IS HARD TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT AI. HOW DO YOU SEE AI PLAYING A ROLE OR THE CHALLENGES THAT AI BRINGS FOR THE BANK?
SO AI WILL BE -- IN PARTICULAR, A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION IN THE WAY WE CONDUCT BUSINESS. OUR OPERATING MODEL IS RESILIENT AND IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO LEVERAGE AI FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR COMMERCE. DRIVING AI THROUGH THREE DIFFERENT WORK STREAMS. THE FIRST ONE IS WE'RE DIFFUSING AI AND DEPLOYING IT TO I'LL OUR COLLEAGUES. THEY CAN APPROVE AND AMEND THEIR CAPABILITIESES. BETTER OUTCOMES TO THEIR COLLEAGUES AND THE CUSTOMERS THEY SERVE. GETTING THE ASSISTANCE. GETTING THE TRAINING AND THIS IS REALLY TO FUTURE PROOF ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES THAT YOU KNOW --
HASLINDA: GEORGE?
YES.
HASLINDA: WILL AI IMPACT ENTRY LEVEL HIRING?
A THING THAT WE HAVE NOT CHANGED OUR ENTRY LEVEL HIRING. WE EXPECTS TO HIRE ABOUT 1,500 TO 1,600 GRADUATES THIS YEAR. OF COURSE WE'LL BE LOOKING AT SKILLS THAT ARE GOING TO BE HELPING US IN THE FUTURE. WE BELIEVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF EVERYTHING WE DO REMAINS WITH HUMANS. WE BELIEVE IN STRONG CONTROLS. WE BELIEVE IN STRONG RESILIENCE. WE BELIEVE IN OUR ABILITY TO AUDIT EVERYTHING WE ARE DOING AND THAT HUMAN JUDGMENT, I DON'T SEE THIS BEING REPLACED IN THE SHORT-TERM.
HASLINDA: GEORGE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME WE APPRECIATING IT. CEO AT HSBC. PLENTY MORE AHEAD. KEEP IT HERE WITH US. THIS IS BLOOMBERG.
HASLINDA: WELCOME BACK. YOU'RE WATCHING INSIGHT. PRES. TRUMP DELIVERED A STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS DEDELAYING U.S. IS BACK BIGGER, BETTER, RICHER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE AND THANKED HIS TRADE TARIFFS FOR THAT COMEBACK. ONE OF THE PRIMARY REASONS FOR OUR COUNTRY'S STUNNING ECONOMIC TURNAROUND, THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY WHERE THE DOW JONES BROKE 50,000 FOUR YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE AND THE S&P HIT 7,000, WHERE IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DO IT FOR MANY YEARS, WERE TARIFFS. I USED THESE TARIFFS, TOOK IN HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO MAKE GREAT DEALS FOR OUR COUNTRY ECONOMICALLY AND ON A NATIONAL SECURITY BASIS.
HASLINDA: LET'S GET TO OUR BLOOMBERG POLITICS EDITOR. HUGE PROCLAMATIONS ON HIS ACHIEVEMENTS. WHAT WERE THE KEY TAKEAWAYS?
THAT TRUMP IS COMMITTED TO TARIFFS. HE BASICALLY COLD A ROOM FULL OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS THAT HE WASN'T GOING TO RELY ON THEM TO ENACT HIS TARIFF AGENDA. HE SAID IT WOULD BE MORE COMPLEX. ACKNOWLEDGED MAYBE IT WOULD BE BETTER IF HE GOES MORE THE LEGAL ROUTE THAN WHAT HE HAD PURSUED PREVIOUSLY. THERE WAS NOTHING IN THIS SPEECH. HE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF DOMESTIC POLICY PROPOSALS GOING FORWARD. THIS IS A SPEECH THAT REPUBLICAN ALLIES WERE HOPING WOULD SET THE TONE FOR THE MIDTERMS AS THE ECONOMIC MOOD IS SOURING WITHIN THE U.S. BUT THE ONLY THING REBROUGHT UP WAS A PLAN TO ADD $1,000 WORTH OF SAVINGS TO SOME RETIREMENT PLANS. THIS WAS SOMETHING PASSED UNDER JOE BIDEN. THERE WAS NOT A LOT FOR REPUBLICANS TO RUN ON COME NOVEMBER.
HASLINDA: WHEN IT COMES TO FOREIGN POLICY, HE TALKED ABOUT IRAN AND TALKED ABOUT ENDING EIGHT WARS BUT THIS IS A PRESIDENT WHO PROMISED NOT TO MAKE THE U.S. THE POLICEMEN OF THE WORLD AND HERE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE U.S. BEING ON THE CUSP OF A WAR WITH IRAN?
YES. HE ACKNOWLEDGED, HE SAID HE WANTEDTORIAN MAKE A DEAL AND THOUGHT IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT THE U.S. COULD PURSUE SOME OF THE STRIKES. WE HIM SPEND A LOT TIME TALKING ABOUT HOW EXCITED HE WAS ABOUT HOW THE OPERATION IN VENEZUELA WENT A COUPLE OF MONTH AGO. YOU SEE HIM USE THOSE TWO IN TANDEM. WE HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN WHEN IT COMES TO IRAN. EXPERTS SAY IT WOULD BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT IN IRAN AND MAY NOT HAVE THE CERTAINTY OF SUCCESS IN VENEZUELA DID BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT TRUMP IS CLEARLY THINKING ABOUT HEADED INTO THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS.
HASLINDA: LAURA DAVISON. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. HONG KONG OUT WITH ITS BUDGET TODAY. SOME OF THE LINES COMING OUT FORECASTING 2026 GDP GROWTH 2.45% TO 3.45% EYEING THE GOAL TRADING. HONG KONG WANTS TO BE THE HUBBOR FAMILY OFFICE. IT IS SETTING UP FUNDS IN THE CITY AND THE OTHER THING AS WELL, HONG KONG AGAIN IS SEGMENT A FUND FOR THAT AND IT IS PRETTY UPBEAT ABOUT ITS GROWTH GOING FORWARD THE REGIME TO ATTRACT FOR FAMILY OFFICE AND THE FUNDS WILL BE SET UP AND THEY WILL EXPAND THE SCOPE OF FOUND COVER SPECIFIC FUNDS OF ONE AS WELL AS CLASSIFYING DIGITAL ASSETS, PRECIOUS METALS, COMMODITIES AS QUALIFIED INVESTMENTS FOR CONCESSIONS. WE'LL DELVE DEEPER INTO THAT THOUGHT THE COMING DAYS. THAT IS IT FOR INSIGHT.