HSBC's dirty laundry to cost a packet

Europe's largest bank HSBC reported a jump in profits as management begged forgiveness for the money laundering scandal that has engulfed the bank.

The bank posted a reported profit before tax of $12.7bn, 11% higher than in the first half of 2011.

This included $4.3bn from disposals as the bank continues to streamline its business.

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Underlying revenues were up 4%. The Global Banking and Markets divisions led the way while Commercial Banking also experienced strong revenue growth, across most products and particularly in the faster-growing regions of Hong Kong, Rest of Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

This was partially offset by lower income in Retail Banking and Wealth Management due to the continued run-down of HSBC's consumer finance portfolios in the US.

Earnings per share were $0.45, down 12% on the first half of 2011.

However, the bank maintained its first half dividend at $0.18 per share, and the core tier 1 ratio, which is a key measurement of balance sheet strength, improved to 11.3% from 10.1% at the end of 2011.

HSBC has been hit by a number of one-off costs, not least the money laundering scandal that was revealed following a probe in the US.

The bank said it was setting aside $0.7bn to deal with "certain US law enforcement and regulatory matters of US".

This refers to claims by US regulators that failures at the bank facilitated money laundering by, amongst others, Mexican drug cartels.

Some commentators had put the potential fine for the scandal as high as $1bn.

The bank's management accepted that regulatory and compliance events in the first six months of the year had overshadowed financial performance, adding further to public concern and distrust of the banking industry.

"It is right that we be held accountable and I apologise for our past shortcomings," said Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver.

"We are profoundly sorry for our mistakes, and are committed to putting them right."

In addition to the money laundering provision, the group set aside $1.3bn in the first half of the year to cover potential claims for mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) plans.

Loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions were $4.8bn in the first half of 2012, $467m lower than the first half of 2011.

"Underlying profit before tax was $10.6bn, down $0.4bn, due to higher operating expenses, reflecting an increase in notable items, particularly provisions for customer redress and certain US law enforcement and regulatory matters. This was partly offset by higher revenue," noted Gulliver.