$1.4bn profit for HSBC's Middle East operations - The National

HSBC Middle East made fewer provisions for bad debts last year, helping the country's biggest international lender to rack up a big rise in profits.

The Middle East unit of the banking giant reported a 67 per cent increase in profits to US$1.4 billion (Dh5.14bn) as debt restructurings of big UAE companies eased off.

At a global level, HSBC reported full-year pre-tax profits of $21.8bn at a global level, an increase of 15 per cent on a year earlier.

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