This included a £1.68bn reversal of an impairment relating to the planned sale of our retail banking operations in France, as the completion of the transaction has become less certain, and a provisional gain of £1.2bn on the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) in March.

Revenue increased by 64% to £16.2bn. The increase was driven by higher net interest income in all of our global businesses due to interest rate rises. It also included the gains related to the transactions in France and the UK.

Customer lending balances increased by £32.09bn in the quarter. On a constant currency basis, lending balances grew by £25.67bn, mainly as £20.05bn of balances associated with our retail banking operations in France were reclassified from held for sale during the period.

In addition, the growth included £5.62bn of additional balances following HSBC’s acquisition of SVB UK during the quarter. Excluding these factors, customer lending was stable.

The group continues to monitor risks related to exposures in mainland China’s commercial real estate sector.

HSBC group chief executive Noel Quinn comments on the latest figures: “Our strong first quarter performance provides further evidence that our strategy is working. Our profits were spread across our major geographies, and all three global businesses performed well as we continued to meet our customers’ needs through our internationally connected franchises.

He adds: “Our return on tangible equity was 19.3%, excluding the impact of strategic transactions. As a result, we have announced our first quarterly dividend since 2019 of $0.10 per share, as well as a share buy-back of up to $2bn.

He adds: “We remain focused on continuing to improve our performance and maintaining tight cost discipline, but we also saw an opportunity to invest in SVB UK to accelerate our growth plans.”