HSBC CEO Flint steps down as H1 profits rise 16%

HSBC said chief executive John Flint had stepped down after only 18 months in the job as the bank believed a change was needed “to meet the challenges” it faces.

The bank said in a statement that Flint had resigned “by mutual agreement with the board” as it revealed first-half pretax profit rose 15.9% and a further buyback of $1bn (£823m).

Pretax profits were $12.41bn, up from $10.71bn a year ago driven by retail banking and higher Asia revenues .

"I have agreed with the board that today's good interim results indicate that this is the right time for change, both for me and the bank," Flint said.

His day-to-day responsibilities will be taken over by interim chief executive Noel Quinn.

Chairman Mark Tucker said in the “”increasingly complex and challenging global environment in which the bank operates, the board believes a change is needed to meet the challenges that we face and to capture the very significant opportunities before us".

The bank also warned that interest rates in the US dollar bloc were now expected to fall rather than rise "and geopolitical issues could impact a significant number of our major markets".

"In the near term, the nature and impact of the UK's departure from the European Union remain highly uncertain. Given the prevailing outlook for interest rates and revenue headwinds in global banking & markets (GB&M) and retail banking and wealth management, we do not expect to achieve our 6% return on tangible equity (RoTE) target in the US by 2020," the bank said.

"We are managing operating expenses and investment spending in line with the increased risks to revenue. We expect some recovery from first-half market conditions in GB&M in the second half of 2019 and into next year, and continue to target a RoTE above 11% in 2020, but we will not take short-term decisions that could jeopardise the long-term health of the business."