Investment banking profits at HSBC reached $5.2bn (€3.9bn) before tax in the 12 months to the end of last December as the global financial services giant pushed group pre-tax profits up more than a third to a record $19.4bn.

Nearly two years into a radical expansion programme, HSBC increased pre-tax profits at its corporate, investment banking and markets division by 16.9% during 2004. The unit generated more than a quarter of group profits before tax.