HSBC profits fall amid $400m fraud-related charge and Iran war
HSBC has taken a $1.3bn (£961m) hit to profits, fuelled by the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran and fraud in the troubled private credit sector.The London-headquartered bank said profits fell 4% in the first three months of the year, dropping $100m to $9.4bn, compared with the same period in 2025.Revenue increased 6% to $18.
6bn.The profit decline was linked to a jump in the potential losses it could see on soured loans to $1.3bn, which included $300m specifically linked to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.HSBC also reported a $400m “fraud-related, secondary, securitisation exposure” in the UK, related to its investment banking division.The bank’s chief financial officer, Pam Kaur, explained that the charge involved loans that HSBC had made to an unnamed private equity group, which was then exposed to private credit-related loans.
While related to fraud, it shines light on the way high street banks could be affected when things go wrong in the world of private credit, and compounds concerns about the opaque nature of the industry,Kaur said the case was “idiosyncratic” and insisted that the bank was careful in its dealings with the private credit sector,She added that HSBC’s total exposure to the industry was worth $6bn, which she insisted was “very small” compared with the bank’s $1tn balance sheet,“We’ve always been very mindful of private credit risks,” she said,Kaur said: “In all such situations we do a broad read across, look at all high-risk concentrations and exposures across the board, and we don’t see anything comparable there.
But as a follow-up, of course … when we are even exposed in a secondary context to this kind of underlying business, we have seen what we can do more, in terms of the additional due diligence.”The lender’s shares dropped more than 5%, making it the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 on Tuesday morning.
Cabinet ministers warn mutinous MPs about trying to oust Keir Starmer
Cabinet ministers have told mutinous Labour MPs that any attempt to oust Keir Starmer after a potentially disastrous set of election results this week would unleash chaos for the party that would not be easily overcome.Several, however, told the Guardian that even with the prime minister’s determination to stay in Downing Street after Thursday’s vote, the mood on the backbenches was febrile and events could yet spiral out of control.They also admitted that – while they would discourage any coup against Starmer now, they did not expect him to lead the party into the next election. “When your personal brand is so poor, it is seldom retrievable,” one said.Labour faces losing more than 1,500 council seats across England, a struggle for second place in Scotland and the prospect of losing Wales after a century of domination, leaving thousands of angry local politicians who see themselves as victims of the government’s unpopularity
Reform UK plan to set up migrant detention centres in Green-voting areas condemned by other parties – as it happened
A Reform UK proposal to prioritise places that vote for Green councils or MPs when it sets up detention centres for migrants facing deportation has been denounced as “abhorrent” from opponents across the political spectrum.Reform says it would deport “all illegal migrants” and, to make this possible, it has announced plans for deportation centres holding up to 24,000 people.In a post on social media, Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, said that these would be located in Green-voting areas. He explained:double quotation markSo here’s our promise:A Reform government will not put any migrant detention facilities in any constituency with a Reform MP.Nor will we put them where Reform controls the council
Be careful who you vote for in local elections on Thursday | Brief letters
There is much in the news about people using the local elections on 7 May to send a protest message to the government and to Keir Starmer in particular. I would urge people to remember that this election is for councillors to run local services. Their remit will be to deliver services including social care, schools, housing, planning, waste collection and pest control. Do you really think that parties such as Reform UK have the skills or mindset for this? Be careful what you wish for, and save any protest vote for the next general election.Viv PertLondon These are such uncertain times, especially for Keir Starmer (Labour MPs say ‘endless drama’ of leadership speculation must stop, 4 May)
Saplings in prisons and bogs on military ranges: Labour’s plans for nature-friendly state land
Tree nurseries could be built at prisons, and military ranges could be turned into heathland or peat bogs as part of an ambitious plan to make government land more nature-friendly, the environment secretary has said.Speaking before elections this week in which Labour is under pressure from the Green party, Emma Reynolds said such projects showed the government’s intent in restoring natural habitats.Under a scheme due to be confirmed in the coming weeks, land owned by the Department for Transport around roads and rail lines would have more “green bridges” to help wildlife move safely. Another possibility would be a greater use of solar panels on government buildings.The projects would aim to bring wider improvements, with the tree nurseries on Ministry of Justice land intended to also help with prisoners’ welfare
Labour MPs say ‘endless drama’ of leadership speculation must stop
Labour MPs are calling for a close to the “endless drama” of leadership speculation, as Downing Street begins a fightback against predictions of an imminent challenge to Keir Starmer.Some backbenchers warned that repeated briefings about how and when the prime minister could be toppled were putting off voters, who similarly had disliked the Conservatives’ repeated shuffling of leaders when in power.“All people want is a government which works, and not the endless drama,” one MP said. “We are in a very tricky global situation, and to have this never-ending conversation about who might have a certain number of supporters feels extremely self-indulgent.”Such worries are shared even among some Labour MPs who strongly believe that Starmer should be replaced
‘Voting Green will stop Reform’: party eyes kingmaker role in Wales
The church hall in Cardiff’s Canton neighbourhood was packed with Green party supporters who had spent Saturday canvassing ahead of next week’s crucial Senedd elections. Green party members from Northern Ireland, Sweden and Denmark had all joined the local campaigners, adding to the sense of momentum for the Welsh Greens.After waiting for more than an hour, the crowd cheered when Zack Polanski, leader of the Green party of England and Wales, appeared from behind the nave, hugging the Wales leader Anthony Slaughter as he did so.The pair had settled their differences after Slaughter criticised Polanski for sharing a social media post criticising the police’s handling of the Golders Green attack earlier this week.“This is something that I haven’t expressed out loud before, but I’m going to express it out loud to you guys: I’m really excited to see those results roll in,” Polanski told the crowd
AI facial recognition oversight lagging far behind technology, watchdogs warn
Guilty until proven innocent: shoppers falsely identified by facial recognition system struggle to clear their names
How does live facial recognition work and how many UK police forces use it?
UK ‘invention agency’ grants £50m of public money to US tech and venture capital firms
Under a cloud: the growing resentment against the massive datacentres sprouting across Australian cities
Parents already have controls over smartphones – they should use them | Letters