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Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

HSBC share price: what’s the outlook for 2020?

The last 12 months have been a challenging for HSBC with its share price falling more than 7%, with the world’s local bank looking to cut costs and overhaul its investment banking unit in 2020.

HSBC Source: Bloomberg

HSBC has had a tough 12 months, with its performance reflected in its share price, falling more than 7% over the period. HSBC is trading at £5.90 a share as of 11:15 GMT on Tuesday.

Since August last year, the bank has been without a permanent chief executive, though HSBC veteran Noel Quinn, who has served as served as interim CEO, is expected to be appointed to the role in the bank's annual results on February 18.

As interim CEO, Quinn has looked to reduce costs, unveiling plans to cut around 10,000 jobs in October, with the bank expected to announce further job cuts in its annual results next month.

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Challenging times for HSBC

The banking sector is under pressure from a prolonged period of low interest rates and ongoing political uncertainty. HSBC’s strong presence in Asia has meant it has been affected by protests in Hong Kong and escalating trade tensions between the US and China.

However, in its third quarter its Asia business held up well, though its activities in Europe and the US have struggled, prompting the bank’s management to ‘remodel’ those units.

‘Parts of our business, especially Asia, held up well in a challenging environment in the third quarter,’ Quinn said in its Q3 results in October. ‘However, in some parts, performance was not acceptable, principally business activities within continental Europe, the non-ring-fenced bank in the UK, and the US.’

‘Our previous plans are no longer sufficient to improve performance for these businesses, given the softer outlook for revenue growth. We are therefore accelerating plans to remodel them, and move capital into higher growth and return opportunities,’ he added.

You can go long or short HSBC using derivatives like CFDs and spread bets.

HSBC’s investment bank struggles

Profits at the bank fell by 25% to $3 billion in the three months to September, driven by a disappointing performance from its global investment bank, with the unit spending more money than it managed to bring in.

In fact, the lender has struggled to keep pace with its peers, with its investment bank unable compete with US rivals like Morgan Stanley, Citi and Goldman Sachs.

This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.

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