HSBC said Tuesday its 2019 pre-tax profits fell by a third on year to $13.3 billion as interim chief Noel Quinn warned that the global banking giant was "not delivering acceptable returns". The bank also reported a loss before tax of $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, impacted by a goodwill impairment of $7.3 billion and a $1 billion UK bank levy charge. "The Group's 2019 performance was resilient, however parts of our business are not delivering acceptable returns," Quinn said in a statement attached to the bank's annual earnings report. yz-jta/amj