HSBC Malta’s 2021 financial performance ‘improved’ but still ‘impacted by COVID-19’

In HSBC Malta’s Annual Report for 2021, approved on 22nd February, CEO Simon Vaughan Johnson noted that whilst the bank’s financial performance in 2021 improved, it “continued to be impacted by the persistent COVID-19 pandemic and negative market factors.”

Such factors, Mr Vaughan Johnson said, include “the sustained negative interest rate environment, pressures on margins and grey-listing.”

In 2021, HSBC Malta reported a profit before tax of €26.9 million, an increase of €16.4 million or 157 per cent from the previous year.

The adjusted profit before tax for that same year, excluding the impact of a one-off restructuring provision of €2.8 million, amounted to €29.7 million, and increase of €19.2 million or 184 per cent compared to the previous year.

“HSBC remains a strong bank that continues to be strategically focused on growing our business in Malta,” Mr Vaughan Johnson noted.

“We continue to maintain high standards through applying our core values and doing the right thing by bringing the best that HSBC Has to offer to the Malta market. We remain firmly committed to this ethos as we continue to pivot the business towards safe growth in the years ahead,” he continued.

2021 also saw HSBC Malta implement a number of key projects, such as the opening of its flagship branch in Qormi, maintaining a prudent lending policy on both secured and unsecured lending given continued market uncertainty, and remaining committed to executing its Safe Growth Strategy.

“The outlook for 2022 will depend to a large extent on the evolution of the pandemic and remains challenging as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact economic growth and market confidence,” the bank’s CEO concluded.