HSBC sees profits rise as it benefits from cuts

LONDON (AP) — HSBC PLC, Europe's biggest bank by market value, saw profits rise for the year as it took advantage of rigorous cutting, but analysts were disappointed because they were hoping for more.

Net profit rose 15 percent to $16.2 billion from $14.03 billion.

Group chief executive Stuart Gulliver, says the group is now leaner and simpler than in 2011. The bank has cut some 41,000 jobs out of a workforce of 295,000 in the last three years and has dumped 63 non-strategic businesses.

The bank, meanwhile, downplayed volatility in emerging markets. The institution, which has a big presence in Asia, is predicting GDP growth in mainland China of 7.4 percent this year, together with 2.6 percent growth in the UK, 2.5 percent in the U.S. and 1.2 percent in Western Europe.