CAIRO: HSBC, Europe's biggest bank unveiled on Tuesday large first-quarter profits, helped by emerging markets growth and higher income at its investment banking division according to a press release posted by the bank. “Underlying pre-tax profits jumped by 25 percent to $6.8 billion (5.2 billion euros) in the three months to March 31 compared with the outcome for the first quarter of 2011″ said the statement. Net profits hit $2.58 billion, down 38 percent on revaluation of its debt. “We have had a good start to the year,” HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver said in the bank's earnings statement. Gulliver added that markets remained “volatile with high levels of debt and regulatory and political uncertainty in developed economies, contrasting with an encouraging outlook in faster-growing markets.” HSBC said revenue in the first quarter jumped 16 percent in Hong Kong and 18 percent in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.
