HSBC is to accelerate plans to cut 35,000 jobs globally after the Covid-19 crisis forced the bank to put aside another $3.8bn (£2.9bn) to cover bad debts.
PROFITS FOR THE HALF YEAR DOWN FROM $12.4BN IN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR
The London-headquartered bank’s shares fell 6 per cent on Monday following the report and are down more than 40 per cent in 2020 so far.
HSBC chief executive, Noel Quinn, said the lender would ramp up cost-cutting plans announced in February, which were originally estimated to involve 35,000 job cuts across its global business.
“Having paused parts of our transformation programme in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, we now intend to accelerate implementation of the plans we announced in February,” Quinn said. “We are also looking at what additional actions we need to take in light of the new economic environment to make HSBC a stronger and more sustainable business.”