HSBC has warned over the shift in global trade relations as posing “serious potential risks” to growth, as the bank navigates a series of “unknowns” over the economic outlook.
Executives at the bank said economic forecasts were more difficult to compile amid uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
HSBC’s chairman Mark Tucker, speaking at the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM), said there was an “uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic environment globally”.
“Indeed whether it is trade, international security arrangements, or economic policy, we are experiencing a period of deep and profound change,” he said.
“The overarching impact of the changing approach to global trade relations has been to increase economic uncertainty with serious potential risks to global growth.”
The range of possible outcomes from changing policy “make any attempt at medium-term projections very difficult”, he flagged.
“Despite the many unknowns that we are dealing with, we believe that the interconnectedness of the global economy remains compelling, as does global trade, the glue that keeps it all together,” Mr Tucker told shareholders.
Earlier this week, HSBC said significantly higher tariffs worldwide could bring down its revenues by a small amount, and also lead to an upsurge in bad debts.
The group increased the amount it was setting aside to cover potential losses from loans to reflect “heightened uncertainty and a deterioration in the forward economic outlook”.
HSBC made a pre-tax profit of 9.5 billion US dollars (£7.1 billion) in the first three months of the year, a quarter lower than the amount generated last year.
Chief executive Georges Elhedery said the bank was continuing to support its customers from a “position of financial strength”.
