FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a - 16 or 15d - 16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of May
HSBC Holdings plc
8
Canada Square, London E14 5HQ, England
(Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or
Form 40-F).
Form
20-F X Form 40-F
8
May 2026
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC - AGM STATEMENTS
At the Annual General Meeting of HSBC Holdings plc, held
at the InterContinental London O2, London, UK today, the
following statements were issued by Group Chairman, Brendan Nelson
and Group Chief Executive, Georges Elhedery.
Group Chairman's Statement:
This is the first time that I have the honour to join you as your
Group Chairman.
I want to pay tribute to my predecessor - Sir Mark Tucker - for his
strong leadership and exemplary commitment to the
Group.
For my part, I am privileged to be part of this remarkable
institution and to have this opportunity to be with you for the
AGM.
Ladies and gentlemen, 161 years ago on 3 March 1865, HSBC opened
for business at 1 Queen's Road, Central, in Hong Kong.
We opened a branch in Shanghai one month later and an office in
London three months after that.
HSBC's founders sought to establish a bank that would facilitate
local and international trade.
By not losing sight of that foundational objective and by remaining
true to our purpose and values, we have focused on what matters
most - our customers - moving forward together through these most
complex of times.
Today, HSBC is clear on our core strengths, investing to further
develop our competitive advantages and deliver sustainable growth,
with an entirely attainable ambition to be the most trusted bank
globally, putting customers at the heart of everything we
do.
And, in that spirit, we invested US$13.7bn in the privatisation of
Hang Seng Bank. This marks another significant milestone in our
history.
We have brought together two seminal institutions that have served
Hong Kong for generations. We are absolutely committed to building
on that valued legacy.
While respecting Hang Seng's heritage and retaining its brand and
distinct customer proposition, we will continue to invest and
develop the complementary strengths of our businesses, to the
benefit of our valued customers and the communities that we
serve.
Turning to our financial performance, 2025 was a very good year for
the Group.
And that positive momentum continues. Indeed, our first quarter
results, which were announced on Tuesday this week, provided
further evidence that our growth strategy is
delivering.
Georges will provide a detailed update shortly.
This strong financial performance enabled us to reward you, our
loyal shareholders, with material returns.
In total, we returned US$18.9bn to shareholders in respect of
2025.
The total dividend announced for 2025 was US$0.75 per share, which
amounts to US$12.9bn, an increase of 14% on 2024 if you exclude the
special dividend paid following the completion of the sale of HSBC
Bank Canada.
In addition, we completed two share buy-backs in respect of 2025
worth a total of US$6bn.
Dividends paid in 2025, together with a more than 49% increase in
the share price, delivered a total shareholder return for the year
of more than 57%.
Earlier this week, at our first quarter results, we approved a
first interim dividend for 2026 of US$0.10 per share.
Looking ahead, the dividend outlook remains strong.
Our dividend payout ratio target remains 50%, excluding material
notable items and related impacts, for 2026, 2027 and
2028.
We have also raised our ambition and are targeting a 17%, or
better, return on tangible equity, excluding notable items, each
year from 2026 through 2028.
We will continue to focus on the execution of our strategy,
navigating the continuing global geopolitical and macroeconomic
uncertainty.
The Iran conflict, and its dramatic spillover in the Gulf and the
broader region, has added to the unpredictability with longer-term
implications for the global economy, which faces the biggest
disruption to global oil supply in history. An array of
energy-related prices has surged globally, reigniting inflation
fears, as well as growth and interest rate concerns.
As the international bank with the longest and deepest heritage in
the Middle East, with roots going back 135 years, our thoughts are
with all those who are affected.
Our focus has been, and continues to be, on supporting our valued
customers and partners. I am thankful to our excellent colleagues,
who have shown remarkable resilience, and carried out their
responsibilities with great professionalism and dedication
throughout this difficult period.
We are confident in the Gulf States in the long-term strength,
resilience and promise of the region and we remain invested in its
future and in the opportunities that lie ahead for its people,
businesses, and economies.
Putting aside the unknowns linked to the Middle East conflict, the
question is what are the risks and the opportunities that will
underpin the 'new networks connecting the global
economy'.
The paradigm shift brought on by the imposition of tariffs did not
lead to widespread fragmentation or de-globalisation. It triggered
a reconfiguration of the globalised world that validated the
criticality of trade and brought new opportunities to the
fore.
In 2025, global growth and the pace of expansion of world trade
proved stronger than expected, as the tariff-related headwinds were
offset by the significant momentum generated by: investment and
export growth related to the entire AI ecosystem, new bilateral and
regional trade liberalisation agreements, and the ever-resilient US
consumer.
World trade grew by 7% and surpassed US$35tn for the first time in
2025, supported by new trade corridors and sustained growth in
services trade.
With respect to 2026 and beyond, all current global growth, trade
and inflation projections should be approached with considerable
caution given the still-to-be-fully-understood and settled impacts
of the Iran conflict.
Globally, headline inflation releases are showing significant
impacts from higher motor fuel prices. The longer the disruption
continues, the more the indirect effects from higher energy costs
will lift inflation and depress growth.
The counterweight to the heightened and increasing levels of
uncertainty permeating the geopolitical and macroeconomic
environment is the resilience of the global economy and the forward
momentum generated by global trade, buoyed by new corridors and
incredible innovation.
HSBC is optimally positioned to help our customers capture the
meaningful opportunities that are driving the global economy
forward, across geographies and throughout our unique global
network.
With that in mind, we continue to focus on
sustainability.
Supporting our customers is core to our strategy - and financing
their transition is both critical to them and aligned to our net
zero ambition. This is because, like HSBC, our clients tell us that
they see a successful transition as a driver of innovation,
opportunity, and growth and increasingly the basis of a stronger,
more resilient global economy.
In November 2025, we published HSBC's updated Net Zero Transition
Plan.
The Plan reaffirms our unchanged ambition to become a net zero bank
by 2050
In our updated Plan, we also set out our updated interim financed
emissions targets, metrics and associated policies, seeking to
remain science-aligned and compatible with our own net zero
ambition.
We believe that supporting our customers' transition is one of the
most significant roles we can play in the global transition to net
zero. We aim to provide and facilitate between US$750bn and US$1tn
of sustainable finance and investment by 2030. In 2025, we provided
and facilitated US$102bn in sustainable finance and investment, a
record annual high for HSBC, leveraging our extensive global
footprint and strategic presence in the world's most dynamic
economies to drive meaningful impact where it matters
most.
These investments brought our cumulative total to US$496bn
since January 2020, putting us on track to meet our target by
2030.
Ladies and gentlemen, to summarise, our 2025 financial performance
was strong.
This enabled us to reward you with a higher dividend which, in
addition to the increase in the share price, delivered an excellent
total shareholder return for the year.
Thank you once again for the trust and loyalty you have shown
throughout the years.
And please know that the Board and the management team are fully
aligned in our shared commitment to ensure that the strong
financial performance and returns for you, our loyal shareholders,
continue in the years to come.
With that, let me hand over to Georges who will discuss the actions
we are taking to make that happen.
Group Chief Executive's Statement:
A very warm welcome to all of you here in London and to those of
you joining virtually.
Our AGM is one of the most significant dates in our
calendar.
It's a chance for you to hear from us, and for us to hear from
you.
We look forward to listening to your feedback and answering your
questions.
Since we last gathered, the world has become more
uncertain.
The conflict in the Middle East is a reminder that we live in a
more shock-prone, interconnected global economy.
HSBC has been present in the Middle East for more than 130
years.
During that time, we've seen its ability to endure periods of
disruption and its determination to always adapt and emerge
stronger.
That's why we continue to believe the years ahead will bring
renewed stability, growth, and prosperity.
Despite frequent shocks, the world is changing structurally. Trade
flows are shifting. Capital is moving along new corridors. And
technology is opening up a world of new possibilities.
AI is reinventing customer experience and new forms of finance are
reinventing how money moves through the system.
As this happens, demand for globally connected financial services
is increasing.
This is especially true in the world's fastest-growing regions,
where the shift is now visible in both capital flows and
trade.
Asia is central to this. It is driving 60% of global growth and 40%
of global trade.
More of that trade is staying within the region. Asia is trading
more with Asia.
And wealth is rising, driven by an expanding middle-class and a
generational wealth transfer.
That is why we have taken decisive action to position HSBC to
capture these structural growth opportunities.
Our strategy is working.
The results are clear in our financial performance.
As Brendan said, I will provide a detailed update.
2025 was a strong year. We performed. We transformed. And we
continued to invest for growth.
Excluding notable items, we delivered 17.2% RoTE. We increased
revenue by 5% to US$71bn. And we grew profit before tax 7% to
US$36.6bn.
Our structure is now aligned with our strategy. And we are
investing in our four complementary, connected businesses to
grow.
In 2025, each business performed well, growing both revenue and
deposits.
In Transaction Banking, elevated market activity demonstrated the
power of our deep international network, which gives access to 86%
of world trade flows.
In Wealth, customers turned to us to protect and grow their assets
because of our products, proposition and leadership
position.
Here in the UK, we stayed close to our customers and supported the
economy.
Our UK business delivered revenue of US$12.9bn, an increase of 5%,
with customer loans increasing 6% to more than
US$300bn.
We continued to simplify HSBC.
We took actions early. This means we are now in a position to
deliver the US$1.5bn of simplification saves we promised you six
months ahead of plan.
This initiative is designed to make HSBC simple and more
agile.
We continue to move at pace with our exit of non-strategic or low
returning activities over the medium-term.
This initiative is now expected to release US$1.8bn of incremental
investment capacity, which we are already reallocating to areas of
competitive strength.
And we continue to focus on operating efficiency.
We are eliminating complexity and increasing productivity, focusing
on driving innovation and customer experience.
We are also investing to deliver focused, sustainable
growth.
Here in our UK home market, we are already seeing real
results.
In Business Banking we are growing customer numbers, lowering
attrition rates and seeing greater advocacy.
In Hong Kong, our other home market, we completed the US$13.7bn
privatisation of Hang Seng Bank.
Hong Kong is a dynamic economy, a top three global financial centre
and a thriving trade gateway. It is set to become the world's
leading cross-border wealth hub by 2029.
The privatisation enables us to scale capabilities and drive growth
across two iconic banks by combining global reach and local
depth.
We are also investing to connect the world, scaling our existing
capabilities, building new ones, and supporting our customers
secure commercial advantage from new forms of finance.
Our customers are now moving money in real-time, 24/7 across 35
markets.
They are using frictionless tokenised deposits and payments for
instant settlement in five markets, including the UK, US, EU, Hong
Kong and Singapore. Many more will follow.
We are also at the forefront of financial
innovation.
In January the UK Treasury selected our distributed ledger
technology as its preferred platform for its UK digital gilt
pilot.
And in April the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted us the first
stablecoin licence. We will issue in the second half of this
year.
Technology and artificial intelligence are playing a particularly
important role as we build a bank designed for the
future.
We are integrating AI to deliver a bank-wide transformation
programme to redesign processes, enhance customer service, and
drive operational leverage and resilience.
This year, we launched our firmwide AI vision.
It focuses on empowering all our colleagues to use AI to improve
the quality and speed of their work.
The target being to create a personalised experience for each
customer, delivered safely, in real time and at scale. It also
keeps human judgement, decision-making and accountability at its
core.
We see innovation and culture as key to our competitiveness, and we
are investing in both.
All our senior leaders and the broader Managing Director cohort
have attended our new group-wide leadership training.
All these efforts combined are driving real momentum in the
business which is reflected in
our first quarter performance.
Excluding notable items, revenues grew 4% and our RoTE was
18.7%.
Each of our four businesses continued to grow revenues. Each
delivered annualised RoTE in excess of 17%, excluding notable
items.
And we grew both loans and deposits in the quarter, showing that
during periods of greater uncertainty our customers turn to us as a
trusted partner and source of financial strength.
We remain fully invested in the GCC's future and the many
opportunities that lie ahead for its people, businesses and
economy. Our customers there know they can count on us when they
need it the most.
In the UK, we saw continued growth in mortgages and our commercial
lending book.
What the last year has shown is that we are now generating sharper,
more focused business performance by being simple and
agile.
That is why we are building on these firm foundations and raising
our ambition for the years 2026, 2027 and 2028.
Over this period, we will now target: 17% RoTE, or better;
year-on-year revenue growth, rising to 5% in 2028; while
maintaining our dividend payout ratio target of 50%.
In 2025 we moved forward with clarity, discipline and conviction.
This gives us confidence that we can deliver against these
targets.
As you would expect, we remain watchful of the macro-economic
uncertainty and the targets are subject to a range of plausible
outcomes.
In summary, our focus is clear:
To unlock HSBC's full potential.
Our strategy is clear:
To be simple and agile.
To drive customer-centricity.
To deliver focused, sustainable growth for you, our
shareholders.
And our ambition is clear:
To be the most trusted bank globally.
By putting customers at the heart of everything we do.
Before closing, I would like to thank our Board of Directors and,
in particular, our Chairman, Brendan Nelson. His clear guidance,
robust challenge and strong oversight strengthen every decision we
make. I value our partnership greatly.
I would also like to thank our customers for placing their trust in
HSBC and all my colleagues for their many valued
contributions.
It is their dedication, commitment and passion to deliver for our
customers that truly differentiates HSBC and is key to delivering
this positive performance.
And finally, I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your
ongoing support and confidence.
Media enquiries to:
HSBC Group Press Office +44 (0)20 7991
8096
pressoffice@hsbc.com
Investor enquiries to:
Alastair Ryan
+44 (0)7468 703010
investorrelations@hsbc.com
Note to editors:
HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in
London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 56
countries and territories. With assets of US$3,306bn at
31 March 2026, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and
financial services organisations
ends/all
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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HSBC
Holdings plc
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By:
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Name:
Angela McEntee
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Title:
Group Company Secretary
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Date:
08 May 2026
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