HSBC steps up dividend plans, eyes buybacks as outlook brightens

​HSBC Holdings Plc is accelerating plans for shareholder payouts as it said the global economy was starting to emerge from the worst effects of the pandemic.

The bank said it now expects to meet its target of paying out 40% to 55% of earnings in dividends this year, rather than next. It is also examining the possibility of share buybacks, the latest lender to unveil such plans after the Bank of England removed restrictions imposed at the height of the pandemic.

“We definitely feel more confident,” Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson said on Bloomberg Television. “We will keep buybacks under review” together with dividends.