The private banking arm of the group reported a rise in profit for the third quarter of this year.

The private banking arm of HSBC today reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of $95 million in the three months to 30 September, up from $55 million a year ago.

London/Hong Kong-listed HSBC said its reported pre-tax profit for the third quarter of this year was $5.9 billion, a 28 per cent year-on-year increase, buoyed by revenue growth and cuts to operating costs. On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit rose 16 per cent to $6.2 billion.

The private banking arm’s net operating income came in at $444 million in the quarter, against $418 million a year before.

On an adjusted basis, the private bank’s cost/income ratio was 80.8 per cent.

For the first nine months of this year, the private banking business made an adjusted pre-tax profit of $285 million, versus $200 million, the bank said today in a statement.

The private bank held $326 billion of client assets at 30 September, down from $330 million at the end of June and $327 million at end-September last year.

“These are encouraging results that demonstrate the revenue potential of HSBC. We are doing what we said we would – delivering growth from areas of strength, and investing in the business while keeping a strong grip on costs,” John Flint, group chief executive, said.