HSBC’s pre-tax profits soared by more than £3.2bn in the first three months of 2023

The rise has seen the banking group announce its first dividend of 10 cents per share since before the pandemic in 2019, as well as a share buy-back of up to two billion dollars (£1.6bn).

Group chief executive Noel Quinn said: “Our strong first quarter performance provides further evidence that our strategy is working.

“Our profits were spread across out major geographies and all three global business performed well as we continued to meet our customers’ needs through our internationally connected franchises.

“With the good momentum we have in our business, we expect to have substantial future distribution capacity for dividends and share buy-backs.”

Pre-tax profits rose from 8.7bn dollars (£7bn) to 12.9bn dollars (£10.3bn) from a year ago as operating expenses fell by 7 per cent to 7.6 billion dollars (£6.1bn), primarily due to lower restructuring and related costs following the group’s cost-saving programme at the end of 2022.

The results included a provisional gain of 1.5 billion dollars (£1.2bn) on the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank in March.

“We remain focused on continuing to improve our performance and maintaining tight cost discipline, but we also saw an opportunity to invest in SVB UK to accelerate our growth plans,” said Mr Quinn.

The update said the group expects net interest income of at least 34 billion dollars (£27.2bn) in 2023.

The statement said: “While the interest rate outlook remains positive, we expect continued pressure from increased migration to term deposits as interest rates rise.”

Last week, the chief executive of HSBC UK urged people who are struggling with their finances to contact their bank, saying “we are there to help”.

The bank announced a new initiative with housing charity Shelter, to support the financial health of people and communities during the cost-of-living crisis and “help break the vicious circle of homelessness”.

Encouraging people with financial worries to seek help, HSBC UK chief executive Ian Stuart said high street banks had made a large proportion of staff available to take such calls. Mr Stuart told the PA news agency: “The earlier you phone your bank, the better and, certainly at HSBC, nobody will judge you.”