British banking giant HSBC said on Tuesday it would buy back up to $1 billion (€0.86bn) of shares after reporting a sharp rise in first-half profit.

The buy-back was announced after HSBC’s second-quarter pre-tax profit rose 60 per cent to US$10.15 billion, beating analysts’ estimate of US$9.5 billion.

The buy-back was announced after HSBC’s second-quarter pre-tax profit rose 60 per cent to US$10.15 billion, beating analysts’ estimate of US$9.5 billion.

Net new inflows reached $64bn with most assets sourced from the region