LONDON (AP) — Banking group HSBC Holdings PLC said on Tuesday that pretax profit for the third quarter was "significantly ahead" of the same period last year and that losses on US consumer loans had shrunk for the first time in three years.

The upbeat trading update from HSBC, one of the few British banks to shun a multibillion pound government bailout, sent its shares 3.3 percent higher to 714.9 pence ($11.94) in London morning trade.

While the statement lacked detailed figures, HSBC said that its global banking and markets division was having a "record year" and that commercial banking was "solidly profitable in all regions" over the first nine months.

Overall profitability for the first nine months of 2009 was stronger than it had forecast at the start of the year, as positive trends experienced in the first half continued into the third quarter, it added.

HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan said loan impairments had fallen to their lowest quarterly level for more than year, driven by stabilised credit performances in the United States.

"I believe that the biggest jolt has now passed through the global economy," Geoghegan said. "But it is too early to claim victory, especially while unemployment is still rising in the West."

"The world will likely experience a two-speed recovery and emerging markets currently offer the brightest prospects for growth," he added.

In the US, where the future for unemployment and house prices will be key to bad loans going forward, loan impairment charges fell for the first time since the start of 2006 and to the lowest level in more than a year.

While noting further positive trends, finance director Douglas Flint was cautious about the outlook for US consumer impairments, which he said hit about $3 billion in the third quarter.

Flint noted that consensus forecasts on unemployment and house prices were improving somewhat.

"If these things all play out, those would be reflective of turning points," he told reporters. "But I don't think anyone is confident to call those yet."

Flint declined to comment on how much HSBC will pay in bonuses this year, a controversial issue following the crisis.

HSBC, which owns the Bank of Bermuda, is free from the government imposed restrictions on payouts by Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and Lloyds Banking Group PLC, who both accepted taxpayer-funded rescues.

"They'll be appropriate," Flint said of future HSBC bonuses, noting the bank was "conscious of the environment in which we operate". In a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, HSBC reported a $1.13 billion third quarter net loss for its subsidiary HSBC Finance Corp., wider than the $271 million loss a year ago.

Net interest income at HSBC Finance Corp. of $1.46 billion was reduced to a loss of $709 million after provisions for credit losses.

In a separate statement, HSBC Finance corp. said it had reached agreement with Santander Consumer USA Inc. to sell its auto loan servicing operations as well as $1 billion in auto loan receivables for $904 million in cash.

It will also enter into a loan servicing agreement for the remainder of its US auto loan portfolio, which is in liquidation. The auto finance business had $7.7 billion in managed receivables at the end of June.

"This agreement is an important step in our continuing efforts to proactively reduce the HSBC Finance portfolio," Niall Booker, CEO of HSBC Finance Corp.