HSBC India's H1 profit before tax up 14%

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp ( HSBC)'s profit before tax in India rose 14% to $460 million in the six months ended June 2017 from $402 million in the corresponding period of 2016, aided by higher income from the bank's corporate and commercial banking divisions.

Profit from the bank's so-called corporate centre division, which lends to large companies in India, rose 38 per cent to $167 million from $121 million in 2016.

Profit from the commercial banking division, which lends to small and medium enterprises, also increased 39 per cent to $96 million from $69 million in 2016, figures released on Monday by the bank showed.

HSBC is Europe's largest bank, with $2.37 trillion in assets. Globally, its profit before tax increased 5 per cent to $10.2 billion in the six months ended June 2017.

The bank's revenue dropped 11 per cent to $26.2 billion, mainly due to currency translation differences, HSBC said. No HSBC official was available for comment.

Profit from the bank's largest division in India, the global banking and markets division, dropped 4 per cent to $187 million from $195 million a year earlier. However, the rise in profit from the commercial banking and corporate centre made up for the profit drop in global banking and markets.