HSBC reveals write-downs of $4.3bn
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HSBC says loan impairments rose in the US as the economy weakened but steady progress was made in reducing the Mortgage Services portfolio.
Loan impairment charges in the personal financial services in the US rose by $0.7bn over Q2 of 2008 to $4.3bn in Q3 of 2008.
The US Mortgage Services portfolio, which is in run-off, fell by $2.5bn in Q3 2008 and by $7.2bn in the nine months to September 30 2008 to stand at $29bn.
Stephen Green, group chairman of HSBC, says: “At the time of our interim results I described our performance as resilient, enabling us to balance the need to conserve capital with meeting our commitment to continue to invest for the future.
“Although we have not been immune from the effects of the severe de-leveraging of the financial system, we have been able to reinforce and grow some of our most important franchises as other banks have weakened, and this will make us stronger when market stability returns.
“In particular the inflow of Premier customers, private banking relationships, the expansion of services to leading corporates and institutions and the strengthening of Commercial Banking customer relationships will stand us in good stead for the future.
“Our relatively strong position has also allowed us to invest cautiously in line with our strategy, while managing our business and capital tightly in these times of extreme financial turbulence.”
