HSBC has reported a 32% rise in third-quarter pre-tax profit to $9.6 billion (£7.2 billion) and announced $2.7 billion (£2.03 billion) in shareholder returns, a day before Chancellor John Healey delivers the Budget amid calls for higher taxes on banks.
The London-headquartered bank's profit was slightly below the $9.7 billion (£7.28 billion) average estimate cited by Reuters. The increase was supported by higher net interest income and by the non-recurrence of $1.4 billion (£1.05 billion) in legal provisions recorded a year earlier.
