The chief executive of HSBC said on Wednesday that the bank’s sweeping restructuring was nearing completion as annual pre-tax profits fell 7 per cent to $29.9 billion, hit by $4.9 billion of one-off charges.

Georges Elhedery, who took over in 2024, said the lender was “becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world”. He added that much of the cost reduction achieved last year stemmed from the “deduplication” of senior roles across the group.

The bank said it had stripped out $1.2 billion of costs in 2025 and now expected to meet its $1.5 billion annual savings target by June, six months ahead of schedule. A net 15 per cent reduction in managing director positions had not affected revenues, according to Elhedery.

Despite the lower earnings, profits were roughly $1 billion ahead of analyst forecasts and followed an unusually strong comparative period. HSBC raised its return on tangible equity target to 17 per cent or better through 2028, up from a previous mid-teens goal, although the metric stood at 13.3 per cent last year.

The decline in earnings reflected a $2.1 billion impairment linked to its stake in China’s Bank of Communications, which has been affected by the country’s prolonged property downturn, along with $1.4 billion in legal provisions and $1 billion in restructuring costs. Pre-tax profit in mainland China fell 66 per cent to $1.1 billion.

HSBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose 2.5 per cent after the results, while its London-listed stock has climbed sharply over the past year, giving the bank a market value of about $300 billion.

The lender said it would pay a final dividend of 45 cents a share, taking total payouts for the year to 75 cents, below the 87 cents distributed for 2024. It also confirmed bonuses of $3.9 billion for eligible staff, up 10 per cent year on year, stating that its “highest performers had the strongest variable pay outcomes compared to the prior year”.

Elhedery received total pay of £6.6 million in 2025, an 18 per cent increase from a year earlier, and the bank’s remuneration committee said it intended to grant him a long-term incentive award worth up to 600 per cent of salary for the 2026–28 period, subject to performance.

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