HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) delivered a beat to the analyst consensus on first-quarter pre-tax profits and announced a share buyback of up to $3 billion.
The Asia-focused lender recorded expected credit losses of $0.9 billion for the period, $0.2 billion higher than a year ago but $0.5 billion lower than in the fourth quarter.
These allowances reflected "heightened uncertainty and a deterioration in the forward economic outlook due to geopolitical tensions and higher trade tariffs".
HSBC still reported profit before tax of $9.5 billion, down $3.2 billion year-on-year due to one-off gains a year ago from business disposals, but much better than the $7.8 billion that had been forecast. Underlying PBT increased 11% to $9.8 billion.
Group revenue fell 15% year-on-year to $17.6 billion, but rose 7% excluding notable items on a constant currency basis, with net interest income declining by 4.6% to $8.3 billion, mainly due to the impact of disposals and currency swings.
CEO Georges Elhedery said the results "demonstrate momentum in our earnings, discipline in the execution of our strategy and confidence in our ability to deliver our targets".
The common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio stood at 14.7%, slightly lower than at the end of December.
A first interim dividend of $0.10 per share was declared, with the new share buyback expected to begin after the annual general meeting on 2 May.