Hsbc boss signals overhaul nearly complete as bonus pot hits decade high
hsbc bankers are to share a $3. 9bn bonus pot, the highest in more than a decade, after the bank posted better-than-expected annual results and its chief executive signalled the lender’s overhaul was drawing to a close.
Bonus pool, pay rise and the performance review
Bankers at HSBC will split a $3. 9bn (£2. 9bn) bonus pot, a sum the bank says is 10% higher than a year earlier and was determined "based on a review of our performance against financial and non-financial metrics". The bank’s chief executive’s pay also rose; Georges Elhedery received £6. 6m in 2025, up 18% from a year earlier.
Hsbc on track to deliver cost savings six months early
Elhedery, who took over as CEO in 2024, has been driving an overhaul intended to save $1. 5bn in costs. The bank said it was on track to achieve those savings six months earlier than planned.
Results in numbers: profit, charges and shareholder payout
HSBC’s pre-tax profit slipped by 7% to $29. 9bn in 2025, a figure that was $1bn higher than forecasts by City analysts and followed an unusually strong 2024. The bank faced $4. 9bn in one-off charges last year, including a $2. 1bn write-off tied to its holdings in China’s Bank of Communications. Legal provisions totalled $1. 4bn and restructuring and related costs added $1bn.
Reorganisation, markets and market value
Elhedery reorganised operating divisions along east-west lines, shed smaller investment banking units in the US and Europe, and slashed the ranks of senior managers. Those moves helped the London-listed stock soar by 50% in 2025 and climb another 10% in the year to date, taking the bank’s market value to about $300bn. The shares rose by 5% during morning trading on Wednesday.
Asia moves: Hang Seng, China business and synergy targets
HSBC took its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank private in a $13. 7bn deal last year. The combined operations are targeting $900m in pre-tax revenue and cost synergies by the end of 2028, while the transaction will incur $600m in restructuring costs. Persistent weakness in China’s property sector contributed to a 66% tumble in pre-tax profit for the mainland China business to $1. 1bn.
Dividend, return targets and governance
The bank will pay a final dividend of 45 cents a share, adding to 30 cents paid earlier in the year; that total is below the 87 cents paid in 2024. HSBC raised its target for return on tangible equity to "17% or better" through 2028, up from a mid-teens target for the three years through 2027—last year’s RoTE came in at 13. 3%. In December, the bank appointed Brendan Nelson, a former KPMG partner, as chair after a prolonged search that left it without a permanent executive in the top role for months.
Market reaction and analyst caution
Analysts at Jefferies said investors were likely to welcome the strong results but may question the bank’s forecast of just a 1% rise in costs for 2026 given a competitive environment and the stated need to invest in AI technology. The results package included the bank’s assertion that it is "becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world. "
The context for these findings also included a separate item headlined "Client Challenge" with Financial Times listed as its source; unclear in the provided context whether that piece related directly to the results above.
hsbc has flagged concrete targets through 2028: delivering the $1. 5bn of cost savings ahead of schedule and achieving $900m of combined pre-tax revenue and cost synergies with Hang Seng Bank by the end of 2028.
