Asia contributed 65 percent of the profit RIYADH: HSBC saw its profits double to $14.7 billion in 2021 thanks to the global economic recovery, the bank’s CEO said in a statement. The increase in profit amounted to $8.6 billion year-on-year, driven by higher profit share from associates and a release of expected credit losses and impairment charges. “All of our regions were profitable, and we saw growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 in many of our business lines,” said Noel Quinn. Affiliate regions witnessed a solid performance that year, with HSBC UK arm and Asia operations accounting to $17 billion combined in pre-tax profit. Lower interest rates globally led to a fall of 2 percent in revenues in 2021, reaching $49.6 billion. Along with the results, HSBC said it plans to buy back shares worth up to $1 billion. The lender anticipates “mid-single-digit lending growth” in the current year along with a weaker wealth performance in Asia during the first quarter of 2022. It added that omicron-driven restrictions and inflation may continue to weigh on its operations, having endured a rocky 2020 with the virus outbreak.