Company: HBCYF
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001089113-25-000040
Chunk: 57

Company: HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 20-F
Chunk 57
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 broader restructuring of our European business of which $2.4bn related to the sale of our retail banking operations in France. 2 Fair value movements on non-qualifying hedges in HSBC Holdings. ECL charges in CMB were $1.8bn in 2024, and in GBM charges were $0.2bn. This included charges of $0.4bn in respect of commercial real estate in mainland China and of $0.1bn in the Hong Kong real estate sector. This compared with charges of $1.0bn and $0.1bn respectively in these sectors in 2023. In addition, ECL in 2024 in CMB included a charge related to a single exposure in the UK, while charges in HSBC Bank UK reduced compared with 2023. In GBM, charges in 2024 also benefited from a release of stage 3 allowances in HSBC Bank plc related to a single exposure. In WPB, ECL charges were $1.3bn . These primarily related to our legal entity in Mexico, reflecting growth in our unsecured lending portfolio and unemployment trends, and also in Hong Kong and the UK. For further details of the calculation of ECL, see pages 177 to 190. Reported operating expenses Reported operating expenses of $33.0bn were $1.0bn or 3% higher, including favourable foreign currency translation differences between the periods of $0.6bn . The increase reflected higher spend and investment in technology and inflationary impacts, while performance-related pay remained stable. Operating expenses were also adversely impacted by the non-recurrence of a $0.2bn reversal of historical asset impairments in 2023. These increases were partly offset by a favourable impact from the UK bank levy of $0.1bn, as 2023 included adjustments relating to prior years, and from the non-recurrence of a $0.2bn charge incurred in the US relating to the FDIC special assessment. The number of employees expressed in full-time equivalent staff (‘FTE’) at 31 December 2024 was 211,304 , a decrease of 9,557 compared with 31 December 2023, primarily reflecting the completion of the sales of our banking business in Canada, our retail banking operations in France and our business in Argentina. The number of contractors at 31 December 2024 was 4,226, a decrease of 450. Reported share of profit in associates and joint ventures less impairment