Major bank to close 100 branches despite bumper profits
MORE than 100 HSBC branches will shut this year despite bumper profits and a £4.5million pay packet for its boss.
The bank’s pre-tax profits jumped by more than 90 per cent to £4.3billion in the final three months of 2022, helped by higher interest rates.
But pre-tax profits for the year as a whole edged 17 per cent lower to £14.5billion after HSBC sold its loss-making French retail bank.
Chief exec Noel Quinn, meanwhile, had his bonus lifted by 36 per cent to £1.8million for last year, taking his pay to £4.5million.
And he could earn up to £9.8million if long-term share awards hit targets.
His investment bank employees may be miffed by his increased payout as the bank’s annual report showed the group cut its bonus pool by four per cent to £2.8billion for 2022.
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Mr Quinn’s big payday comes after HSBC slashed thousands of jobs over the past three years.
Despite the strong end to last year, Mr Quinn hinted at more job cuts.
He said: “There will be no easing off at all on costs. We are now considering up to $300million (£247million) of additional costs for severance in 2023.”
A spokesman said this would cover the cost of employees leaving the bank and not being replaced, rather than another round of redundancies.
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HSBC, which has 15million customers in the UK, has already said that 114 branches will shut from April - you can see the full list here.
The bank has almost halved its presence on the high street to 327 in the last two years.
A spokesman confirmed that despite the mega profits, the branches would still shut because more customers were banking online.
The bank is based in London but makes most of its money in Asia.
It has come under heavy fire from its biggest shareholder PING AN, a Chinese insurer, which has called on the bank to create an Asian-listed division.
Mr Quinn said yesterday that HSBC was better together, saying a spin-off would destroy shareholder value.
IN FOR A HOLIDAYS BONANZA
HOLIDAY Inn and Hilton hotel owner IHG has said it reckons the travel industry will have fully recovered from the pandemic by next year after revenues rebounded.
IHG revealed that sales rose by more than a third to £3.2billion last year while operating profits lifted by 27 per cent to £628million.
The performance was slightly below expectations but the hotel giant cushioned the blow for investors by announcing another £618million share buyback and raising dividends by ten per cent.
Boss Keith Barr warned there were uncertainties but said holidaymakers were prioritising spending on getting away.
Business travel has been slow to recover after Covid as many overseas trips have been replaced by Zoom meetings.
Mr Barr said: “People stop buying something like a car or Xbox before they stop going on holiday and business travel.”
Blackpool’swarts and all Gruffalo
A MONSTER with tusks, turned-out toes and a poisonous wart on his nose will be the latest attraction by Merlin Entertainments in Blackpool.
The Gruffalo (why, didn’t you know?) is part of a £2.3million seafront site based on the favourites from children’s author Julia Donaldson and artist Axel Scheffler.
Zog and the Highway Rat will also appear in The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse, close to Merlin’s other attractions, including Sea Life, Peter Rabbit and the Blackpool Tower.
HACK-HITMAIL’S AT P.O. AGAIN
ROYAL MAIL has finally resumed overseas deliveries from post offices — more than a month after a cyber attack.
The embattled postal service was hit by ransomware from a group called LockBit, which has links to Russia.
It made its international mailing only available online.
Royal Mail refused to pay a £66million ransom demand and reportedly said “under no circumstances” would it stump up the “absurd amount of money” being asked for.
But many small businesses complained that sending customer orders abroad had become impossible with Royal Mail after services were also disrupted by strikes.
Royal Mail warned it will have to make 10,000 potential job cuts by the end of this year as it faces £450million of losses.
WOMEN’S BUSINESS IS ROSE-Y
A RECORD number of female entrepreneurs launched a new business last year, according to the Rose Review.
Women founded more than 150,000 new companies, more than twice the number in 2018.
By comparison, 427,525 businesses were started by men last year.
Young female entrepreneurs aged 16 to 25 were the biggest drivers in the leap forward.
Experts said this could be due to a growing number of digital start-ups.
NatWest boss Alison Rose was tasked by the Treasury in 2019 to review barriers to female entrepreneurship. Only two per cent of venture capital goes to women-led start-ups.
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Ms Rose said: “It’s a testament to the resilience and entrepreneurialism of female founders that they are creating more companies than ever.”
Rose has been appointed to lead a government taskforce on energy efficiency.
OVER-50S JOB CALL
OLDER workers aren’t too busy playing golf and should be encouraged into job schemes, MPs were told yesterday.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has urged over-50s to “get off the golf course” as retirees face blame for the slow economy.
But Lucy Standing, of Brave Starts, told the Business Select Committee there should be support for an “entry-level scheme for later life workers”.
The Resolution Foundation says reforming childcare would also help more people to work.