HSBC sees profits double

The UK’s banking reporting season has got off to a flying start today after banking giant HSBC reported profits more than doubled, exceeding analysts expectations.

Europe’s largest bank has today announced a pre-tax profit of $11.1 billion (£7 billion) for the six months to the end of June, compared with $5 billion in the same period a year ago.

The bank also said loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions fell to $7.5 billion over the six-month period – the lowest level since the financial crisis began in 2008.

Following the release of the results, HSBC’s London-listed shares rose 4.4% in early morning trading.

HSBC is one of the few banks not to receive any taxpayer bailout money after surviving the financial crisis better than many of its rivals.

The bank is the first to announce its results, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered will publish their results on Wednesday, Barclays on Thursday and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Friday.