HSBC’s sales and trading unit, a prime target for cuts under its overhaul plans, was a star performer in the first quarter amid a 50% slide in group profits, as the bank racked up loan losses because of Covid-19.

The UK lender set aside $3bn for credit losses in the first quarter, almost double the figure estimated by analysts, and warned it could swell to $11bn this year, resulting in “materially lower profitability”, it said on 28 April.