The latest figures from $HSBA (+1,02%) as well as its strategic focus on the fast-growing Asian region (50% of sales) and the announced share buyback program (USD 2 billion) have convinced me. My second bank in the portfolio.

The British credit institution HSBC Holdings Plc $HSBA (+1,02%) reported today that its fourth quarter profits were up on the previous year despite weak revenues.

• Pre-tax profit amounted to 2.3 billion dollars in the fourth quarter, an increase of 1.3 billion dollars over the previous year. The company pointed out that the increase was due to the absence of an impairment charge of USD 3.0 billion in the previous year in connection with the investment in the associated company BoCom.

• The reported profit after tax amounted to USD 0.6 billion and was therefore USD 0.4 billion higher than in the previous year.

• Quarterly sales, on the other hand, fell by 11% year-on-year to USD 11.6 billion, which is attributable to the recycling of currency losses and other provisions in connection with the sale of the business in Argentina.

• In the 2024 financial year, profit before taxes rose by 6% from 30.35 billion dollars in the previous year to 32.31 billion dollars.

• Earnings per share amounted to USD 1.24, compared to USD 1.14 in the previous year.

• Revenue fell from $66.06 billion in the previous year to $65.85 billion.

For 2025, the company expects net interest income in the banking business to be around USD 42 billion. In the 2024 financial year, net interest income in the banking business amounted to USD 43.7 billion.

In addition, an ARP of up to USD 2 billion is to be launched for 2025.

"The results show that HSBC is well positioned to survive in an uncertain macroeconomic environment," said Michael Makdad, analyst at Morningstar. He sees the share buyback program as an expected step, but rates the planned cost savings of USD 1.5 billion by 2026 as very positive.

Under the new CEO Georges Elhedery, who took the helm only last year, HSBC is increasingly focusing on the Asian market. The bank had already announced a comprehensive reorganization in October 2024, which will divide the Group into four business divisions - with a clear separation between Western and Eastern markets.

"We are building a focused, more agile bank based on its core strengths," explained Elhedery in the company's press release.

This also includes strict cost control: in addition to the general savings targets, HSBC plans to reduce personnel expenses by 8 percent by 2026. The bank recently laid off around 40 investment bankers in Hong Kong - particularly in the areas of M&A, consumer, real estate and commodities.

However, global interest rate developments pose challenges for HSBC. While the eurozone has room for interest rate cuts and the USA is holding still for the time being, an increase is expected in Japan. HSBC is forecasting net interest income of USD 42 billion for 2025 - a decline compared to USD 43.7 billion in the previous year.

"Interest rate volatility remains a key variable for our performance," says Elhedery. Nevertheless, HSBC is aiming for a return on equity in the mid-teens for the years 2025 to 2027.

The major British bank HSBC Holdings $HSBA (+1,02%) is facing a new wave of redundancies in investment banking. The company plans to begin the next round of job cuts as early as next week. The move is part of a comprehensive restructuring under the leadership of new CEO Georges Elhedery, who wants to make Europe's largest bank more efficient and competitive.

According to insider information, the new wave of redundancies will initially start in Asia before being gradually extended to other regions. It remains unclear how many jobs will ultimately be affected. HSBC already started to reduce positions within the markets department last week. From today, deeper cuts are to follow across the entire investment banking division. The redundancies will be spread over several weeks and months.

The reasons for the job cuts are manifold: on the one hand, inefficient structures and duplicate staffing are to be reduced, on the other hand, the performance-based departure of employees will play a role. "HSBC is focused on strengthening its market leadership in areas where the bank has a clear competitive advantage," a company spokesperson explained to Bloomberg.

Since taking office in September, Elhedery has already made far-reaching changes to the management structure. He reduced the number of members of the top management body by a third, and Bloomberg reported in December that more than 40% of the top 175 managers could be affected by the cuts. The restructuring is expected to be completed by June, while more detailed information is expected on February 19 with the publication of the annual results.

HSBC HOLDINGS $HSBA (+1,02%) announced the completion of its current US$3 billion share buyback program, which was announced on 30 October 2024. Since the commencement of the buyback, the Company has repurchased 186 million ordinary shares on the UK trading venues at a volume weighted average price of GBP 7.4862 per ordinary share and 131 million ordinary shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a volume weighted average price of HKD 74.4516 per ordinary share, totaling approximately US$3 billion.

No price rocket, but solid figures, good positioning and healthy growth, Asia risk manageable, good and rising dividends 🫠

Can anyone tell me why Trade Republik canceled my December dividend of $HSBA (+1,02%) canceled ? Never had this case before!

January 20-24, 2025, Davos, Switzerland

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international organization founded by Klaus Schwab in Switzerland in 1971. It promotes cooperation between business, politics, science & civil society. The Annual Meeting takes place in Davos. The motto for this year:

"Cooperation in the age of intelligence"

The World Economic Forum 2025 is dedicated to a wide range of topics, including geopolitical tensions, economic growth and the transition to clean energy. At the same time, tech, AI, quantum computing & biotech also play an important role.

As always, there will be posts on all relevant topics from @HennRes & @Michael-official will be published. Under the #wef2025 you will be able to view all posts in chronological order.

Main topics:

• Rethinking growth: How can we tap into new sources of economic growth?

• How can companies respond to tech and geopolitical upheaval?

• What measures promote education, health & human capital?

• How can innovative partnerships & techs drive climate protection?

• How can cooperation be strengthened to overcome social divisions?

Participants from politics & business.

Over 350 government representatives, including 60 heads of state & government, 1600 people from the private sector, including 900 CEOs and over 170 people from NGOs, trade unions, academia and indigenous peoples are also present.

The key figures from politics are:

• 🇺🇸 Donald J. Trump(soon to be) President of the USA (via video link)
• 🇪🇺 Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
• 🇨🇳 Ding XuexiangVice Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China
• 🇦🇷 Javier MileiPresident of Argentina
• 🇩🇪 Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany
• 🇿🇦 Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
• 🇪🇸 Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain
• 🇨🇭 Karin Keller-Sutter, President of the Swiss Confederation 2025
• 🇺🇦 Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine

Executives from the private sector (who are expected/ not offical)

Technology sector

• 🇺🇸 $MSFT (-1,57%) (Microsoft) - Satya Nadella, CEO
• 🇺🇸 $AMZN (-2,39%) (Amazon) - Andy Jassy, CEO
• 🇺🇸 $IBM (-0,47%) (IBM) - Arvind Krishna, CEO
• 🇺🇸 $MSFT (-1,57%) (Microsoft) - Bill Gates, co-founder and head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• 🌎 Cohere - Aidan Gomez, CEO
• 🌎 $META (-1,11%) (Meta) - Yann LeCun, AI scientist
• 🌎 OpenAI - Sam Altman, CEO
• 🇺🇸 $TSLA (-4,32%) (Tesla) - Elon Musk, CEO

Financial sector

• 🇪🇺 ECB - Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank
• 🇫🇷 ECB - Francois Villeroy de Galhau, President of the French Central Bank
• 🇩🇪 German Bundesbank- Joachim Nagel, President
• 🇺🇸 $BLK (BlackRock) - Martin Lück, Chief Investment Strategist
• 🇳🇱 $ING (-0,3%) (ING) - Carsten Brzeski, Chief Economist at ING Germany

Banking sector

• 🇺🇸 $JPM (-0,57%) (JPMorgan Chase) - Jamie Dimon, CEO
• 🇨🇭 $UBSG (+0,91%) (UBS) - Sergio Ermotti, Group CEO
• 🇨🇭 $UBSG (+0,91%) (UBS) - Colm Kelleher, President
• 🇩🇪 $DBK (+0,12%) (Deutsche Bank) - Christian Sewing, CEO
• 🇺🇸 $GS (-2,21%) (Goldman Sachs) - David Solomon, Chairman and CEO
• 🇺🇸 $BAC (-0,56%) (Bank of America) - Brian Moynihan, CEO
• 🇺🇸 $C (-1,37%) (Citigroup) - Jane Fraser, CEO
• 🇬🇧 $HSBA (+1,02%) (HSBC) - Mark Tucker, Group Chairman
• 🇬🇧 $HSBA (+1,02%) (HSBC) - Michael Roberts, CEO of HSBC Bank
• 🇺🇸 $MS (-1,6%) (Morgan Stanley) - Ted Pick, CEO
• 🇬🇧 $BARC (-0,18%) (Barclays) - C.S. Venkatakrishnan, CEO
• 🇫🇷 $GLE (+0,52%) (Société Générale) - Slawomir Krupa, CEO
• 🇮🇹 $UCG (-0,29%) (UniCredit) - Andrea Orcel, CEO
• 🇦🇹 $BG (+1,34%) (BAWAG Group) - Anja E. M. W. Schreiber, CEO
• 🇦🇹 $EBS (+1,09%) (Erste Group) - Andreas Treichl, CEO

Industry sector

• 🇩🇪 $BAYN (+1,43%) (Bayer) - Bill Anderson, CEO
• 🇨🇭 $NESNE (Nestlé) - Mark Schneider, CEO
• 🇬🇧 $ULVR (+0,79%) (Unilever) - Hein Schumacher, CEO
• 🇨🇳 SHEIN - Donald Tang, Vice Chairman
• 🇮🇳 ADANIENT (Adani Enterprises) - Gautam Adani, Chairman

... and many more from the Tech, Banking, AI, Biotech, Pharma, Industrial, etc. sectors.

$JPM (-0,57%)

"The US economy has proven to be robust. Unemployment remains relatively low and consumer spending remained strong through the vacation season. Businesses are more optimistic about the economy and are encouraged by expectations of a more growth-oriented agenda and improved cooperation between government and business."

"However, two significant risks remain. Current and future spending needs are likely to be inflationary and therefore inflation could persist for some time. In addition, geopolitical conditions remain the most dangerous and complicated since the Second World War. As always, we hope for the best, but are preparing the company for a variety of scenarios."

$C (-1,37%) , $WFC (-1,02%) , $BAC (-0,56%) , $DBK (+0,12%) , $SOFI (-4,68%) , $BLK (-1,16%) , $MS (-1,6%) , $HSBA (+1,02%) ,

Last year, there was a distinct lack of snow in December. Instead, the portfolio did really well and I made progress with my crypto sell-off strategy. A small cold in the fall, despite taking good precautions, set me back in terms of ice bathing and hiking, but fortunately I was healthy again by Christmas. Unfortunately, that wasn't all... Time for a look back.

I present the following points for the past month of December 2024:

➡️ SHARES

➡️ ETFS

➡️ DISTRIBUTIONS

➡️ CASHBACK

➡️ AFTER-PURCHASES

➡️ P2P CREDITS

➡️ CRYPTO

➡️ WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT

➡️ OUTLOOK

➡️ Shares

$AVGO (-3,16%) is back on the tube. Wow, at +276%, the stock is now up for me. After the share cooled down a little, it went to the moon again in December.

$NFLX (-1,73%) and $SAP (-1,87%) are on a par with the previous month in terms of performance and are still in 3rd and 4th place in terms of volume. $WMT (-2,31%) . The retail chain will soon become a doubler for me.

The red lanterns will once again go to the usual suspects $NKE (-0,48%) , $DHR (+1,24%) and $CPB (+3,22%) . In terms of performance, all three stocks are down between -30% and -20%. They are the smallest positions in my main share portfolio with the $DHL (+0,55%) However, across all portfolios, the smallest positions are the new additions $SHEL (-1,69%) and $HSBA (+1,02%) .

➡️ ETFs

The ETFs are doing their thing as usual. This month, I immediately invested a refund from the previous year's utility bill in the $GGRP (-0,99%) and $JEGP (+0,05%) invested. I'm always expanding this asset class in particular with cash inflows. I don't care about timing. The money should go into the assets so that the stream of distributions keeps growing. I buy income and want cash flow.

➡️ Distributions

I received 34 distributions on 14 payout days in December. I am grateful for this additional income stream. My minimum target has been met anyway in this high-distribution month. The snowball rolling down the slope is getting bigger and bigger.

I already donated part of the dividend at the beginning of the month. This is based on the conviction that you can (and should) give something back, no matter how small, if you have the opportunity to do so.

➡️ Cashback

In November, I received €6 from redeemed Payback points, the equivalent of which I transferred from my grocery account to my settlement account. As already mentioned, there was also a credit from the utility bill. REWE and Penny have now separated from Payback, while Edeka, Netto Markendiscount and Marktkauf have joined. All three new stores are not in my immediate vicinity, which is why I will earn fewer Payback points in future. I will most likely collect the points mainly at DM. REWE and Penny now have their own bonus programs. REWE's will be exciting, as I can also save up credit with my purchases. I will deduct this discount from my grocery account and invest it in the same way as before. I'll see over the year whether it pays off more than Payback did back then.

➡️ Subsequent purchases

As already mentioned, there were additional purchases at $JEGP (+0,05%) , $GGRP (-0,99%) and $SPYD (+0,62%) . I always invest every little return or leftover money to further increase my portfolio. This buys me freedom.

➡️ P2P loans

I was finally able to get rid of Peerberry. Now only Mintos is hanging on my leg like a log. A mid-double-digit amount, which has long since defaulted, is still waiting to be refunded or written off.

This asset class will soon be history for me.

➡️ Crypto

All in all, December was another exciting month for crypto investors. Limit orders were triggered again for me. The last tranches $LINK (+0,62%) have left me, as has a first tranche $UNI (-0,4%) and a first tranche $BTC (+0,22%) . I have invested the proceeds in $HSBA (+1,02%) and $SHEL (-1,69%) invested in the separate portfolio. I have already explained my underlying strategy in detail, which you can read about in my articles. Recently, the crypto market has been in a sideways phase again. I'm hoping for another breakout in January to trigger further limit orders, as I still need to buy a security so that the separate portfolio pays me a return each month. So far, only two out of three quarterly months are covered. The two new stocks have even performed well in this short period of time, gaining around +3.6% within a month. The last purchase will perhaps be an ETF. You will see more about this in the coming reviews. I am already looking forward to collecting again in the coming bear market and will then certainly write an extra post with the levels at which I will gradually enter again.

➡️ What is really important

I remember December as a good month in financial terms, but unfortunately Christmas was overshadowed by tragic events this time.

After recovering from my cold at the beginning of the month a few days before Christmas Eve and getting back to my daily routine (consisting of work, running, ice swimming, hiking and my love of finance), I received the terrible news from Magdeburg. I am simply stunned and ask myself "why?". I am not affected, I am not one of the bereaved and I don't know any of the victims, the wounded or the bereaved personally, yet this event brought me down on the evenings around the Christmas holidays. Loyal readers know that I am working on a closer relationship with my ex's kids. Even though my blood doesn't run through their veins, questions ran through my mind about what if they were affected by the horrific act, or me? It could have happened anywhere. At least in the event of my untimely demise, I also made appropriate arrangements in the last few days of the year to ensure that what I leave behind ends up where I want it to be. I spent the turn of the year with the kids and the time I spent with them was the best end to the year imaginable. It's nice when connections continue to exist and you remain part of the life of the Kampfzwerge and can continue to accompany them through life.

➡️ Outlook

New year, new luck. I'll be surprised what the new year will bring. There will be a separate post for the evaluation of 2024 as a whole. I'm particularly happy because I exceeded an important goal despite a few expenses.

Links:

Social media links can be found in my profile, you can also check out the Instagram version of my review.

......noch bought a little extra dividend