HSBC’s pre-tax profits plummeted 62 per cent for 2016 due to one-time charges and “uncertainties” caused by “significant and largely unexpected economic and political events”, the bank said on Tuesday

Europe's largest bank by assets saw profit before tax slump to $7.1bn (£5.7bn) from $18.87bn in 2015, falling well short of the $14.4bn analysts had been expecting, according to Thomson Reuters data.

HSBC's share price fell 6 per cent to 669.4p on Tuesday.

The bank said 2016 would “be long remembered for its significant and largely unexpected economic and political events”, alluding to the election of Donald Trump as US President and Britain's vote to leave the EU.

“These foreshadowed changes to the established geopolitical and economic relationships that have defined interactions within developed economies and between them and the rest of the world,” chairman Douglas Flint said.

“The uncertainties created by such changes temporarily influenced investment activity and contributed to volatile financial market conditions.”

Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said in a statement that the bank had seen little impact from the Brexit vote on its business but said it still planned to relocate 1,000 of its 43,000 UK-based workers to Paris once Britain leaves the EU.

However, he said the bank had “broadly all the licences and infrastructure needed to continue to support our clients once the UK leaves the EU”.

“There will be 1,000 jobs that will have to move, because it would be unlawful for that work to be carried out from the UK, but I don't think this is a problem for the city of London,” Mr Gulliver said.

Looking forward, he said “the outcome of the US election has added to concerns about a rise in protectionism”, which have been “accentuated in many parts of the world by technological change and income inequality”. The bank also expressed concern about the threat of populism in Europe, which it said could negatively impact global trade.

Top HSBC executives took a pay cut after the bank admitted it had not made sufficient progress in combating financial crime and meeting regulatory requirements. The bank revealed it is being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority over its anti-money-laundering controls.

Mr Gulliver's pay fell to £5.7m from £7.3m a year earlier.

The company cut its total staff bonus pool by 12 per cent to £2.41bn for the year. More than 360 employees earned more than £1m in 2016, the annual report showed.

HSBC booked $3.2bn in impairment charges after writing off the goodwill related to its European private bank and taking a loss on the sale of its Brazilian operations. It also announced it would buy back $1bn of its own shares.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled – leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

“We have considered it appropriate to write off the remaining goodwill in the European private banking business,” it said, adding the restructuring of global private banking is now largely complete.

The $1bn share buy-back takes HSBC’s announced buy-backs since the second half of 2016 to $3.5bn following the bank's disposal of its Brazil unit in July last year in a $5.2bn deal.

HSBC's shares have been among the best-performing European bank stocks since Britain voted in June to leave the EU, climbing 53 per cent against a 28 per cent increase in the STOXX Europe index of 600 banks as the bank benefited from appreciation of the US dollar and stronger capital levels.