HSBC Holdings, Europe's biggest bank, said its first quarter profits were "well ahead" of last year, swelled by record results in its investment bank arm and gains on the value of its own debt.
Excluding the fair value gains on its own debt, first quarter profit was below a year ago, but "significantly higher" than in the fourth quarter, the bank said.
Loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions were higher than a year ago but lower than the previous quarter on both an underlying and reported basis.
Charges in the United States, where HSBC is in the process off shutting most of its US consumer lending business after losing billions in the last three years on subprime housing loans that have soured, were also "slightly lower than expected," it said.
Loan impairment charges on its HSBC Finance exit portfolio were $2.4 billion - about $300 million more than a year ago but down $600 million from the fourth quarter.
HSBC raised £12.5 billion in a record rights issue last month, aimed at restoring its traditionally strong balance sheet advantage over rivals.
That left it "well positioned to ride out the economic uncertainty ahead, and to take advantage of opportunities to grow," the bank said.
The fundraising lifted HSBC's core equity tier 1 capital ratio to 8.6 per cent at the end of March.
Global Banking and Markets, the investment bank unit, delivered record first quarter results on the back of strong trading in foreign exchange and interest rates. It said the strong performance continued in April.
Reuters