Moody’s has cut its ratings outlook for HSBC to negative over concerns that a planned shake-up of the UK lender’s investment bank will hit profitability over the next two years.
HSBC is expected to unveil a fresh round of cost-cutting in February, when interim chief executive Noel Quinn presents its full-year 2019 results. After an 18% profit slide across the group during the third quarter, Quinn promised to “remodel” the bank, adding that performance in its European and US businesses was “not acceptable”.