a1870n
FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a - 16 or 15d - 16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of May
HSBC Holdings plc
42nd
Floor, 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ, England
(Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F).
Form
20-F X Form 40-F
3 May 2024
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC - AGM STATEMENTS
At the Annual General Meeting of HSBC Holdings plc, held at
The InterContinental London O2, London, UK today, the
following statements were issued by Group Chairman,
Mark Tucker and Group Chief Executive, Noel
Quinn.
Group Chairman's Statement:
When we met last year, you will recall that we debated the
resolutions tabled by a small group of shareholders who proposed
strategy and structural reviews for your Bank and a restriction on
your Board's ability to set the dividend.
Noel and I set out the clear and compelling reasons why we believed
that it was in your best interests, as well as those of our clients
and customers, that we stay the course and deliver on our current
strategy.
I am pleased to say that the overwhelming majority of shareholders
agreed with us. That agreement was expressed very clearly when you
had the opportunity to vote.
A year later, you can see the value of your support for the Board's
recommendations which is clearly demonstrated by:
Firstly, the improved financial performance of the Group;
and
Secondly, the increased returns that we delivered in
2023.
Let me expand briefly on performance and returns.
I'll start with our improved financial performance.
2023 was a very strong year for HSBC.
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.
Our first quarter results which were announced earlier this week
provided further evidence that our strategy is
delivering.
Noel will speak to the first quarter results in a
moment.
Let me now turn to how our performance, both in 2023 and in the
first quarter of 2024, has enabled us to reward you, our loyal
shareholders.
Our 2023 record profit performance allowed us to announce a
full-year dividend of 61 US cents per share which was our highest
full-year dividend since 2008.
In total we returned approximately US$19bn to shareholders in
respect of 2023.
This included the three share buy-backs announced last year
totalling US$7bn.
On top of that we announced, during our annual results presentation
in February, an additional share buy-back of up to US$2bn which has
now been completed.
Earlier this week at our first quarter results we announced a
further US$8.8bn of dividends and share buy-backs.
This consisted of:
(1)
A first interim dividend for 2024 of 10 US cents per
share
(2)
A special dividend of 21 US cents per share, following the
completion of the sale of our Canada business, which will be
payable in June alongside the first interim dividend.
(3)
And a new share buy-back of up to US$3bn which we will expect to
initiate shortly and aim to complete within three
months.
Looking ahead, the dividend outlook remains strong.
Our dividend payout ratio target for 2024 remains 50%, excluding
material notable items and related impacts.
And we continue to target a mid-teens return on tangible equity in
2024.
We remain very focussed 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.
Higher interest rates in Western economies are still weighing on
global growth which HSBC's economists forecast to come in at 2.6%
in 2024 and 2025.
Inflation data remains key to the global interest rate
outlook.
Central banks are closely and carefully watching the data and need
to be confident that inflation will continue to head down to target
on a sustainable basis before lowering rates.
Our economists continue to anticipate a gradual reduction in
inflation with our global inflation forecasts at 5.8% in 2024 and
3.8% in 2025.
We expect the ECB and Bank of England to cut rates in June, cutting
by 150bps by year-end 2025. We expect the Fed to cut in September,
cutting by 100bps by year-end 2025.
However, with growth and employment numbers holding up and
inflationary pressures lingering, that relative certainty in the
central banks' decision-making process is not easy to achieve and
it may not be a steady glide path.
But the silver lining of stronger economic numbers, even with some
recent stubbornness in inflation, means that the economies are
broadly resilient.
All of this is occurring in an increasingly unpredictable
context:
The wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas
continue to have a devastating humanitarian impact and to cause
significant economic disruption.
This year will also be the biggest election year on record: more
than four billion voters will go to the polls. The US, UK, India
and Mexico are among the countries holding national
elections.
The outcomes will have implications that go beyond the national
realm. They are likely to impact international security
arrangements, trade, and green policy to name a few.
Through all this, our focus remains on executing our strategy,
navigating the challenges and making the most of the
opportunities.
Before I invite Noel to share his views on your Bank's performance,
I would like to add to what I said earlier on his decision to
retire from the Bank.
The Board and I would like to pay tribute to Noel's exceptional
leadership. As Group Chief Executive, he drove our transformation
strategy, creating a simpler, more focused business. This enabled
us to deliver the improved performance I just outlined and to
create a platform for future growth and development.
It has been a pleasure and privilege to work with and alongside
him.
Group Chief Executive's Statement:
I'd like to begin by saying how grateful I am to you, and to the
Board, for all your support, guidance, friendship and
partnership.
I am proud of what my HSBC colleagues and I have achieved together
over the past five years.
Over that period, we have hit some significant financial milestones
- a number of which I will talk about today.
We have also created a more focused business, and I believe we have
built a strong platform for the Bank's next phase of development
and growth.
I'd also like to thank you - my fellow shareholders - for your
continued support.
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.
As Mark said, we were therefore pleased with the performance of the
bank in 2023, and in the first quarter of 2024.
Our strong financial performance was reflected in the significant
amount of capital distributions that we announced for
2023.
At 61 cents per share, the full year dividend was well above
pre-Covid levels, whilst also still enabling us to retain a good
proportion of our earnings to invest in the business
As Mark said, it's also the highest full-year dividend since
2008.
In total, we returned around US$19bn to you, our shareholders,
through dividends and share buy-backs in respect of
2023.
And the trend of strong capital distribution continued in the first
quarter of this year.
We announced a further US$8.8bn
of distributions earlier this week.
This included:
- A
first interim dividend for 2024 of 10 cents per
share;
- A
share buy-back of up to US$3bn;
- And
a special dividend of 21 cents per share, as the first priority use
of the proceeds from the sale of HSBC Canada which will be payable
in June.
As I said, the key driver for these strong distributions was the
improved financial performance of your bank.
2023 was a very good year for HSBC.
Our reported profit before tax was above US$30bn
for the first time ever.
Strong revenue growth across all three global businesses helped us
to achieve our best return on tangible equity in more than a
decade.
And there was good, broad-based geographical growth, which
underlines the value of our model.
Our strategy is working, and there was further evidence of this at
our first quarter results.
We reported US$12.7bn
of profit before tax for the first quarter.
On an annualised basis, we delivered a return on tangible equity of
26.1%, or 16.4% excluding notable items.
And we are on track to meet all of our 2024 guidance, including a
mid-teens return on tangible equity excluding notable items, and
our commitment to limit cost growth to around 5% on a target
basis.
So, your bank is performing well and has strong
momentum.
But we have also built a strong platform for future
growth.
Given the strength of our balance sheet, we have benefited from
supportive interest rates.
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.
Let me describe just a few.
The first opportunity is continued growth in our two home markets
of the UK and Hong Kong.
In the UK, we have good traction in Commercial Banking and in
Wealth and Personal Banking.
We were the number one bank for UK large corporates as well as the
best bank in the UK for SMEs, as assessed
by Euromoney.
We also attracted over one million new-to-bank customers in the UK
last year, and we have had steady mortgage growth and have taken
market share in Mortgages.
And we are ideally positioned to capitalise on the wealth
accumulation in Hong Kong and mainland China, driven by rapid
urbanisation across mainland China and the increased use of the
Connect schemes with Hong Kong, and as Hong Kong plays a key role
facilitating investment via developing trade corridors, like those
between Asia and the Middle East.
The second opportunity is to grow our strong international
franchise.
We ranked number one for trade revenue globally last year, second
by revenue in our payments business, and we've been number three
globally by revenue in FX since 2021.
But there is a significant amount of untapped opportunity within
our existing client base, which can drive revenue growth in the
face of declining interest rates.
To provide some evidence of this, we grew revenue from clients who
bank with us in more than one market by 29% in 2023.
In recent years, we have also ramped up our investment in our
Wealth and Personal Banking international business.
40% of Wealth and Personal Banking revenue already comes from
international customers, and we believe we can take it much
further.
And I'm pleased that there was a very strong performance in Wealth
in the first quarter, with revenue up by 12% on the same period
last year.
Alongside this, we will continue to diversify our revenue
geographically.
And by maintaining a tight cost discipline, we will invest in
growth areas, including new technology and our new global HSBC
Innovation Banking proposition, which has got off to a very good
start since launching last June.
Before I hand back to Mark, I also want to speak about an area of
our work that is incredibly important to all of you, to the Bank
and to the communities we serve.
Supporting the transition to net zero is one of HSBC's four
strategic pillars.
As one of the world's largest international banks, with a presence
in the regions and sectors where the most significant change is
needed, we are well placed to support the transition.
The transition is driving huge demand for finance - estimates
indicate up to US$40tn
will be required globally by 2030, around 60% of which will be
needed in ASEAN and the Middle East.
So we operate in places where we can have a real
impact.
As you know, we set an ambition in 2020 to become a net zero bank
by 2050, and net zero in our own operations by 2030.
In January, we published our first Net Zero Transition
Plan.
It sets out, for the first time in one place, how we intend to
channel the distinctive strengths of HSBC to have a meaningful
impact on emissions reduction in the real economy.
We want to be clear about our approach and the changes that are
underway.
But we also cannot do it alone.
Our ability to transition relies on decarbonisation in the real
economy happening at the necessary pace.
Our customers and the industries and markets we serve will need to
transition effectively, supported by strong government policies and
regulation, and substantially scaled investment.
Engagement and collaboration are therefore central to our
approach.
As a bank, our success depends on enabling our clients to
succeed.
That's why our goal is to work with our clients, to understand
their plans to get to net zero and to help make them a
reality.
We don't have all the answers.
But our approach and transition plan will evolve over time, as we
and others learn more, science evolves and new technologies emerge
at scale.
To conclude, I am pleased you are seeing the benefits of our
strategy through increased returns and dividends.
Our strategy is working.
And we remain focused on delivering the returns that we all
want.
Thank you again for your continued support.
Media enquiries to:
Press
Office
+44 (0) 20 7991
8096 pressoffice@hsbc.com
Investor enquiries to:
Neil Sankoff
+44 (0)20 7991
5072
investorrelations@hsbc.com
Note to editors:
HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in
London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 62
countries and territories. With assets of US$3,001bn at
31 March 2024, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and
financial services organisations
ends/all
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
HSBC
Holdings plc
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By:
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Name:
Aileen Taylor
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Title:
Group Company Secretary and Chief Governance Officer
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Date:
03 May 2024
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