HSBC to cut thousands of jobs as profits climb 3%

Europe's largest bank saw shares trading higher early on after reporting a climb in profits for the first half of 2011.

HSBC said pre-tax profit had climbed to $11.5bn (£7bn), kicking off bank reporting season on a positive note. The results pushed shares up 4.4% or 26.2p by mid-morning, to 620.5p. The group, one of the UK's top five dividend payers, also declared a second interim dividend of $0.09, making total interim dividends of $0.18, up 12.5%. Despite the surge in profits, HSBC intends to axe 25,000 additional jobs by the end of 2013, it said today. The group, which previously announced the loss of 5,000 jobs across the UK, US, Europe and Latin America, is looking to cut staff numbers furth...