Avery Chen and agenciesHSBC resumed its long tradition of paying dividends yesterday with a payout of 15 US cents per share in cash when it reported a better-than-expected annual profit. Pretax profit plunged 34 percent to US$8.8 billion (HK$68.64 billion) last year, weighed down by mounting credit losses amid the pandemic. Expected credit losses surged to US$8.8 billion from US$6.1 billion 12 months before. It was paying an interim dividend - the first payout since the third quarter of 2019 - after UK regulators lifted a ban on dividends and share buybacks to preserve capital amid the pandemic. It will not resume its pre-pandemic practice of paying dividends on a quarterly basis, but an interim dividend with the half-year results in August would be considered.

Source: The Standard February 23, 2021 19:07 UTC