HONG KONG  — Global bank HSBC said Friday it’s launching its latest multibillion-dollar share buyback, as it released its first quarterly earnings report under its new chief executive, John Flint.

The bank said that the buyback of up to $2 billion in shares will “commence shortly” and is the only one it plans for 2018. It follows $5.5 billion worth of share repurchases HSBC has carried out in the previous two years.

London-based HSBC said pretax profit slipped 4 percent from a year ago to $4.8 billion as operating expenses for business investment and enhancing “digital capabilities” rose 13 percent, outpacing revenue, which grew 6 percent to $13.7 billion.

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