HSBC Holdings (LSE:HSBA) said it now expects banking net interest income of around $46bn for 2026, up from previous guidance of at least $45bn, as it published results for the quarter ended 31 March versus 1Q25.
The bank reported profit before tax of $9.4bn in 1Q26, down $0.1bn from 1Q25, while revenue rose 6% to $18.6bn and annualised RoTE was 17.3%, or 18.7% excluding notable items.
"We continued to make positive progress in creating a simple, more agile, growing HSBC, and we remain confident in achieving the targets we set out in February 2026," Georges Elhedery, Group CEO, said.
Expected credit losses increased to $1.3bn, $0.4bn higher than 1Q25 driven by a $0.4bn fraud-related securitisation exposure in the UK and a $0.3bn rise in allowances, while operating expenses rose 8% to $8.7bn.
Net interest income rose 8% to $8.9bn (banking NII $11.3bn) and revenue was supported by strong Wealth fees and a $0.2bn one-off property gain, with constant currency profit before tax excluding notable items broadly stable at $10.1bn.
The common equity tier 1 ratio was 14.0% at 31 March, down 0.9 percentage points from 31 December, the Board approved a first interim dividend of $0.10 per share and the Group raised its 2026 ECL guidance to around 45bps of average gross loans while retaining a RoTE target of 17% or better for 2026-28.
HSBC completed the privatisation of Hang Seng Bank, said it is on track to deliver $1.5bn of annualised cost savings by end-June 2026 after identifying $1.4bn to date, and reported Wealth net new money of $39bn in 1Q26, $34bn of which was booked in Asia.
