HSBC could cut up to another 5,000 jobs as Europe's biggest bank looks to find further savings, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The business daily said HSBC -- Europe's largest bank by market value -- was set to outline the next stage of a strategic overhaul at an investor day in May. Cutting 5,000 posts would help the London-headquartered lender make savings of $1.0 billion (774 million euros) -- a target chief executive Stuart Gulliver wants to achieve this year. The British bank refused to be drawn on the report when asked to comment by AFP.

Asia-focused bank HSBC said Monday that net profits sank 16.5 percent to $14.03 billion in 2012, due to US money-laundering fines, mis-selling scandals, rising taxation and a huge accounting charge. Profit after tax fell to the equivalent of 10.78 billion euros last year, compared with $16.8 billion in 2011, London-headquartered HSBC said in a results statement. Pre-tax profits slid six percent to $20.65 billion, while revenues dipped one percent to $82.55 billion.

Asia-focused banking giant HSBC announced on Monday that net profits sank by 16.5 percent to $14.03 billion (10.78 billion euros) in 2012 compared with the previous year. Profit after tax had stood at $16.8 billion in 2011, London-headquartered HSBC said in a results statement. rfj/arp

China's manufacturing growth hit a four-month low in February but remained positive, British banking giant HSBC said Monday, noting that the world's second-biggest economy was still recovering slowly. The bank's seasonally adjusted preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 50.4 for the month, down from a final 52.3 in January, it said in a statement. A reading above 50 indicates expansion and it was the fourth consecutive month of growth, after 12 months of contraction.