HSBC takes $500m hit on Carillion and Steinhoff

HSBC has revealed a $500m hit as loans turned sour after the collapse of Carillion (Frankfurt: 924047 - news) and an accounting scandal at South African retail giant Steinhoff.

The bank disclosed that it had taken the charge as it reported a sharp rise in annual profits to $17.2bn - though the figure fell short of expectations, sending shares lower.

Loan impairments for the year totalled around $500m, attributed to "two large corporate exposures in Europe".

HSBC did not disclose which companies it was referring to but Sky News understands they are Carillion and Steinhoff.

Investors are scrutinising results from British banks this week to assess whether Carillion's demise last month with debts of £1.3bn had a significant impact.

Steinhoff, whose global brands include the UK's Poundland, revealed accounting irregularities in December that wiped billions of dollars off its share price and prompted a raft of changes in its boardroom and leadership.

Other charges for HSBC for the year included $392m towards the cost of setting up a ring-fenced UK bank and a $28m Brexit cost.

HSBC revealed a rise in the total pay packet of chief executive Stuart Gulliver - who is leaving the post after seven years - to £6.1m compared to £5.7m the year before.

Mr Gulliver has led the lender, which is Europe's largest, through major restructuring, and was handed a higher bonus as he hit latest targets on continuing to sharpen its focus amid a shift towards Asia and keeping a tight rein on regulatory compliance.

HSBC has been dogged by money laundering allegations in recent years - and recently saw the expiry of a "deferred prosecution" agreement under which it was being closely monitored by the US Department of Justice.

The group's annual profits were up 141% compared to the year before, partly flattered by costs from selling its business in Brazil in 2016 and restructuring part of the bank in Europe.

That included the impact of a $1.3bn one-off accounting charge following Donald Trump's corporate tax reforms - which have similarly affected a number of big multinationals.

The profit boost was not enough to satisfy investors as it fell short of analysts' expectations for a bottom line of $19.7bn.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) fell 4% but recovered some of those losses to close the day 3% lower.

Mr Gulliver said the bank had completed a transformation plan begun in 2015.

"HSBC is simpler, stronger, and more secure than it was in 2011," he said. "It has been my great privilege to lead HSBC for the last seven years."

Mr Gulliver, who has worked for HSBC for 37 years, hands over to John Flint.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said there was disappointment over the lack of a share buy-back scheme to reward the bank's shareholders.

However, he added: "The market may have chosen to concentrate on the less pleasing elements to the numbers, but there is little denying that HSBC is showing signs of being in strong recovery mode."