Company: HBCYF
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001089113-25-000040
Chunk: 170

Company: HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 20-F
Chunk 170
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 the completion of business disposals in Canada and France, and a lower UK bank levy of $0.1bn, as 2023 included adjustments relating to prior years. Operating expenses in 2024 benefited from the non- recurrence of a $0.2bn charge in 2023 incurred in the US relating to the FDIC special assessment. Target basis operating expense growth was 5% compared with 2023, in line with our cost growth target. This primarily reflected higher investment spend, including in technology and from inflationary pressures, while our performance-related pay accrual was broadly in line with 2023. Our target basis operating expenses are measured on a constant currency basis, excluding notable items, the impact of retranslating the prior year results of hyperinflationary economies at constant currency, and the direct costs from the sales of our French retail banking operations and our banking business in Canada. For a reconciliation of target basis operating expense to reported operating expenses see page 133 . 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. Share of profit in associates and joint ventures of $2.9bn was $3.1bn higher than in 2023, including an increase in the share of profit from SAB. Impairment of interest in associate. In relation to our investment in BoCom, at 31 December 2024 we concluded that there was no indication of further significant impairment (or indication that an impairment may no longer exist or may have decreased significantly) since 31 December 2023. At 31 December 2023, the Group performed an impairment test on the carrying value of our investment in BoCom which resulted in an impairment of $3.0bn. For further details of our impairment review process, see Note 18 : Interests in associates and joint ventures on page 423 .

| Tax expense                           |        |        |
|                                       |   2024 |   2023 |
|                                       |     $m |     $m |
| Tax (charge)/credit                   |        |        |
| Reported                              | -7,310 | -5,789