Hang Seng Bank : 1st Half Net Profit Fell 33% on Year

By Ben Otto

Hang Seng Bank Ltd. said its net profit for the first half fell 33% as Hong Kong wrestled with weaker economic activity amid the Covid-19 pandemic, trade tensions and social unrest.

Net profit for the period was 9.14 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$1.18 billion), compared with HK$13.66 billion a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based lender said in a stock-exchange filing Monday.

Results were affected by factors including lower net interest income, an increase in expected credit losses and a net deficit on property revaluation, Hang Seng said. The bank booked HK$1.76 billion in expected credit losses and other credit impairments, up from HK$510 million in the same period a year earlier.

Net interest income fell 6.7% to HK$14.79 billion in a lower interest rate environment, while noninterest income dropped 33% to HK$4.40 billion, the bank said.

Hang Seng said it expects the pandemic, geopolitical tensions and other uncertainties to continue to disrupt industrial and commercial activity, reducing consumer spending and investor appetite.

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