Big profits expected from HSBC

Banking giant HSBC is set to unveil the biggest profits by a UK bank when it announces its full-year results today.

Analysts believe the bank, Britain's largest, will report profits of more than $17bn (€12.8bn/£8.8bn), breaking through the £9bn (€13bn) mark and easily outdoing its closest rival, Royal Bank of Scotland.

But some forecasters believe it will go even further and say it made around $19.5bn (€14.7bn/£10.2bn). This would make its haul the highest ever by a UK company, a title won by Shell when it announced profits of £9.3bn (€13.5bn) earlier this month.

HSBC said in December that its third-quarter performance was satisfactory and that all its geographic regions were ahead of the same period last year at the pre-tax level.

The bank is such a global force that the UK now only accounts for around a fifth of its earnings.

Today’s results will include the first full-year’s contribution from US firm Household International.

HSBC’s profits will contribute to another bumper haul from the banking sector, which is estimated to be making around £1,000 (€1,400) a second.

The industry recently came under fire from former London Stock Exchange chairman Donald Cruickshank, who said he believed nothing had been done to boost competition among banks since he carried out a review by the British government five years ago.

Today’s results come a week after Royal Bank of Scotland unveiled profits of £8.1bn (€11.7bn) and will be followed later this week by Halifax to Bank of Scotland group HBOS and Lloyds TSB.