(31st January 2011 – UK) HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are expected to announce combined profits of £24.2 billion (A$38.76 billion), up more than 10 percent on the £21.5 billion they reported last year.The growth in profits, based on estimates from respected City investment bank Nomura, will demonstrate the strength of the financial services sector.
Coming just a week after government statistics showed consumer confidence falling to a 19-year-low and after Britain’s productivity decreased by 0.5 percent in the last three months of 2010, the first fall since the recession, the profits will be seized upon as a sign that the economy remains relatively robust.
HSBC is expected to unveil the largest profit for the 2010 financial year, an estimated £13.5 billion, more than double 2009’s £5.16 billion, while Standard Chartered’s profits will be around £4.5 billion, up from £3.8 billion.
Barclays is expected to report a profit of £5.1 billion, although this is smaller than its profit last year of £11.6 billion.
However, the state-backed banks will deliver considerably lower numbers. Lloyds, in which British taxpayers have a 42 per cent stake, is expected to produce a profit of around £1 billion, unchanged from the previous year’s figure.
Meanwhile RBS, in which taxpayers have an 84 per cent shareholding, is expected to unveil a £613 million loss, albeit considerably smaller than the £1.93 billion loss it reported in the 2009 financial year.