HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings ( HSBC ) reported a 10% rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, beating analyst estimates, as it benefited from slower-than-expected rate cuts while it is embarking on one of the largest overhauls in its history.

Europe's largest bank posted pretax profit of $8.5 billion for the July-to-September period versus $7.7 billion a year earlier. The result compared with a $7.6 billion mean average of broker estimates compiled by HSBC ( HSBC ).

The London-headquartered, Asia-focused bank also announced an additional share buyback of up to $3 billion, on top of a $6 billion buyback programme announced earlier this year.