HSBC Holdings PLC, the biggest bank in Europe by market value, revealed a substantial 80% plunge in pretax profit for Q4 2023. The sharp decline is primarily attributed to major write-offs tied to its investments in China's financial sector and exposure to the troubled real estate market in the country.
The Asia-focused lender declared Wednesday that its quarterly profit dropped, citing a $3 billion impairment charge on its stake in China's Bank of Communications (BoCom) and another $2 billion charge from the sale of its retail banking operations in France. Additionally, the bank allotted $3.4 billion to make up for expected credit losses connected to the mainland Chinese commercial real estate sector.
