Our international strategy is working, AGM hears
The success of our international strategy is enabling us to reward shareholders for the trust they have placed in the bank, HSBC Group Chairman Mark Tucker said at today’s Annual General Meeting.
Mark told shareholders how their support for the bank’s existing structure and strategy had been demonstrated by the Group’s improved financial performance and the increased returns delivered in 2023.
“2023 was a very strong year for HSBC,” Mark told the AGM in London. “We reported record profits before tax, which exceeded US$30bn for the first time in your bank’s 159-year history.
“Our reported return on tangible equity was 14.6%, which was our best performance in over a decade. We also demonstrated good, broad-based profit generation through geographic and business diversification. This performance points to the fact that our international strategy is working.”
He added: “Our first quarter results… provided further evidence that our strategy is delivering.”
Mark highlighted that we had returned around US$19 billion in capital to shareholders in 2023 through share buybacks and dividends, with a further US$8.8 billion announced this week.
“We remain very focused on, and committed to, rewarding you for the trust that you have placed in us. Despite the continuing uncertain economic environment globally, we are confident that we can continue to deliver good performance and returns.”
Mark then handed to Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn, who announced earlier this week that he intends to retire after nearly five years in the role and a 37-year career at the bank.
Noel told shareholders: “Leading our bank for the past five years has been a privilege, as well as a great responsibility. My goal has always been to deliver the improved financial performance and returns that we all wanted to see, and you deserve.”
He said we are performing well, have strong momentum and have built a strong platform for future growth.
“Given the strength of our balance sheet, we have benefited from supportive interest rates,” he said. “But we have worked hard to reduce our sensitivity to interest rates. And we are focused on implementing revenue growth strategies that can offset the impact of declining interest rates.”
Sixteen resolutions backed by the Board were passed by shareholders at the AGM. A 17th resolution – a shareholder-requisitioned resolution relating to the UK pension scheme – was defeated, in line with the Board’s recommendation.
For full details of each resolution and the votes cast, consult the table of results.
AGM and shareholder meetings
Find out about our Annual General Meeting and details of other shareholder meetings.
Our performance in 1Q 2024
“I’m pleased with our start to 2024. Our good profit performance has enabled us to continue the trend of rewarding our shareholders,” said Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn.