HSBC says its first quarter profits have almost halved due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Pre-tax profit for the first three months of the year came in at $3.2bn (£2.6bn), down from $6.2bn a year ago. The bank increased its expectations of bad loans, which are unlikely to be paid back, to $3bn due to the fallout from Covid-19 and as oil prices slump. However, it confirmed it would put plans to axe 35,000 jobs on hold to support staff during the outbreak. The London-headquartered bank warned that the negative effect of the pandemic on the global economy would mean an increase in the number of bad loans. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices