2008 Interim Report Section 2

RNS Number : 6054A

HSBC Holdings PLC

04 August 2008

 



For the half-year

• Net operating income before loan impairment charges up by US$982 million, 3 per cent, to US$39,475 million (US$38,493 million in the first half of 2007). 

• Loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions up by US$3,712 million (58 per cent) to US$10,058 million (US$6,346 million in the first half of 2007).

• Group pre-tax profit down by US$3,912 million (28 per cent) to US$10,247 million (US$14,159 million in the first half of 2007).

• Profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company down by US$3,173 million, 29 per cent, to US$7,722 million (US$10,895 million in the first half of 2007).

• Return on average shareholders' equity of 12.1 per cent (19.1 per cent in the first half of 2007).

• Earnings per share down 32 per cent to US$0.65 (US$0.95 in the first half of 2007).

Dividends and capital position

• Second interim dividend for 2008 of US$0.18 per share which, together with the first interim dividend for 2008 of US$0.18 per share already paid, represents an increase of 6 per cent over the first and second interim dividends for 2007.

• Tier 1 capital ratio of 8.8 per cent and total capital ratio of 11.9 per cent.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

This Interim Report 2008 contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of HSBC. These forward-looking statements represent HSBC's expectations or beliefs concerning future events and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainty that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. For example, certain of the market risk disclosures, some of which are only estimates and, therefore, could be materially different from actual results, are dependent on key model characteristics and assumptions and are subject to various limitations. Certain statements, such as those that include the words 'potential', 'value at risk', 'estimated', 'expects', 'anticipates', 'objective', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'estimates', and similar expressions or variations on such expressions may be considered 'forward-looking statements'. 

Written and/or oral forward-looking statements may also be made in the periodic reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') on Form 20-F, Form 6-K, summary financial statements to shareholders, proxy statements, offering circulars and prospectuses, press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by HSBC's Directors, officers or employees to third parties, including financial analysts. 

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Readers should be cautioned that a number of factors could cause actual results to differ, in some instances materially, from those anticipated or implied in any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and it should not be assumed that they have been reviewed or updated in the light of new information or future events. Trends and factors that are expected to affect HSBC's results of operations are described in the 'Business Review', the 'Financial Review', and 'The Management of Risk'. A more detailed cautionary statement is given on pages 4 and 5 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2007.

Profitability and balance sheet data

	Half-year to
	30 June     2008     US$m		30 June     2007     US$m		31 December     2007     US$m
For the period
Total operating income	42,912		42,092		45,509
Profit before tax	10,247		14,159		10,053
Profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company	7,722		10,895		8,238
Dividends	6,823		6,192		4,049
At the period-end
Total equity	134,011		126,491		135,416
Total shareholders' equity	126,785		119,780		128,160
Capital resources1,2	146,950		137,042		152,640
Customer accounts	1,161,923		980,832		1,096,140
Total assets	2,546,678		2,150,441		2,354,266
Risk-weighted assets2	1,231,481		1,041,540		1,123,782
	US$		US$		US$
Per ordinary share
Basic earnings	0.65		0.95		0.70
Diluted earnings	0.65		0.94		0.69
Dividends	0.57		0.53		0.34
Net asset value at period end	10.27		10.10		10.72

Capital and performance ratios (annualised)

	%		%		%
Capital ratios2
Tier 1 capital	8.8		9.3		9.3
Total capital	11.9		13.2		13.6
Performance ratios
Return on average invested capital3	11.9		18.4		12.4
Return on average total shareholders' equity4	12.1		19.1		13.0
Post-tax return on average total assets	0.68		1.19		0.78
Post-tax return on average risk-weighted assets	1.39		2.30		1.63
Credit coverage ratios
Loan impairment charges as a percentage of total operating income	23.2		15.0		23.8
Loan impairment charges as a percentage of average gross customer advances	2.04		1.53		2.48
Total impairment allowances outstanding as a percentage of  impaired loans at period end	108.1		98.4		104.9
Efficiency and revenue mix ratios
Cost efficiency ratio5	51.0		48.3		50.4
As a percentage of total operating income:
-     net interest income	49.4		43.3		43.0
-     net fee income	25.6		24.9		25.3
-     net trading income	8.9		13.1		9.5
Financial ratio
Average total shareholders' equity to average total assets	5.2		5.9		5.5

1    Capital resources are total regulatory capital, the calculation of which is set out on page 201.

2    The calculation of capital resources, capital ratios and risk-weighted assets for 30 June 2008 is on a Basel II basis. Comparatives are based on Basel I.

3    The definition of return on average invested capital and a reconciliation to the equivalent Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ('GAAP') measures are set out on page 111.

4    The return on average total shareholders' equity is defined as profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company divided by average total shareholders' equity.

5    The cost efficiency ratio is defined as total operating expenses divided by net operating income before loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions.

Share information

	At  30 June     2008		At  30 June     2007		At  31 December     2007
US$0.50 ordinary shares in issue (million)	12,005		11,713		11,829
Market capitalisation (billion)	US$185		US$215		US$198
Closing market price per ordinary share:
-    London	£7.76		£9.15		£8.42
-    Hong Kong	HK$120.90		HK$142.50		HK$131.70
Closing market price per American Depositary Share ('ADS')1	US$76.70		US$91.77		US$83.71
	Over 1 year		Over 3 years		Over 5 years
HSBC total shareholder return to 30 June 20082	90.1		102.3		141.0
Benchmarks:
FTSE 1003	88.4		122.2		166.0
MSCI World4	89.8		131.1		180.6

1    Each ADS represents five ordinary shares. 

2    Total shareholder return is defined on page 12 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2007.

3    The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index.

4    The Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index.

Constant currency

Constant currency comparatives for the half-years to 30 June 2007 and 31 December 2007, used in the 2008 commentaries, are computed by retranslating into US dollars:

the income statements for the half-years to 30 June 2007 and 31 December 2007 of non-US dollar branches, subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates at the average rates of exchange for the half-year to 30 June 2008; and

the balance sheets at 30 June 2007 and 31 December 2007 for non-US dollar branches, subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates at the rates of exchange ruling at 30 June 2008.

No adjustment has been made to the exchange rates used to translate foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities into the functional currencies of any HSBC branches, subsidiaries, joint ventures or associates. 

When reference is made to 'constant currency' or 'constant exchange rates' in tables or commentaries, comparative data reported in the functional currencies of HSBC's operations have been translated at the appropriate exchange rates applied in the current period on the basis described above.

The first half of 2008 saw the most difficult financial markets for several decades, marked by significant declines in profitability throughout much of our industry, with consequent recapitalisation and restructuring. HSBC was not immune from the turmoil. Our pre-tax profit of US$10.2 billion was 28 per cent lower than in the first half of 2007. In the prevailing market conditions this is a resilient performance which enables us to maintain our capital strength, continue with our dividend policy and balance the need to conserve capital with our commitment to make it available for investment in our fast-growing businesses.

The Directors have approved a second interim dividend of US$0.18 per share, an increase of 6 per cent, which is payable on 8 October with a scrip alternative.

Resilient operating performance in the first half of 2008

In the first half of 2008 we remained profitable in all our customer groups. We also remained profitable in all of our geographical regions with the continuing exception of North America. Revenue rose by 3 per cent compared with the first half of 2007; loan impairments were up by 58 per cent but were 8 per cent lower than in the second half. Costs on an underlying basis were well contained, growing by only 4 per cent compared with the first half of 2007 and down by 2 per cent on the second half.

Compared with the second half of 2007, we improved profitability in all our customer groups and for the Group as a whole by 2 per cent. In particular, it is notable that profitability in Global Banking and Markets - where extremely difficult market conditions led to writedowns of US$3.9 billion - was 37 per cent higher than in the second half of 2007. Meanwhile, our US consumer finance business continued to face difficulties, but performed within our expectations, with loan impairments of US$6.6 billion, lower than in the second half of 2007 by 17 per cent. The Group Chief Executive's Review covers our operational performance in more detail.

Financial strength maintained

HSBC's commitment to maintaining its financial strength is unwavering. HSBC remains both strongly capitalised and liquid. The tier 1 capital ratio was 8.8 per cent and tier 1 capital grew by US$6.2 billion during the period. We have maintained our key credit ratings, generated good profitability in adverse market conditions and continued to focus investment on our strategic priorities.

Our principal concerns in this environment have been risk management, strict cost control, supporting our customers and continued investment to support our long-term strategic ambitions. Our broad-based and resilient revenue streams continue to provide a stable platform from which to achieve strong, long-term performance.

Strategic changes to HSBC's shape

The sale of the regional bank network in France to Banque Populaire announced in February was completed on 2 July and a gain of US$2.1 billion will be recorded in our second half results. The HSBC business in France is now concentrated in France's major urban areas, particularly Paris; the business is focused primarily on Global Banking and Markets, Premier, private banking and commercial banking, specifically for businesses involved in international markets.

We acquired the assets, liabilities and operations of The Chinese Bank in Taiwan in March, adding 36 branches and over one million customers to our operations in Asia's fourth-largest banking market. In May, we announced an agreement to acquire 73.21 per cent of IL&FS Investsmart Ltd, a leading retail brokerage in India, for a total consideration of around US$260 million, giving us a securities presence alongside our banking and insurance businesses in Asia's third largest economy.

Turbulent environment

The economic and financial environment deteriorated progressively through the first half of the year . In the major developed economies where we operate, economic growth slowed as asset prices, particularly of residential property, declined; this in turn affected consumer confidence and hence spending. In credit markets, illiquidity remained a major issue, with trading volumes low and no sign of resumption of normal activity levels in the securitisation markets. As a consequence, the banking system continued to deleverage, putting further pressure on asset prices and raising credit default risk.

In the emerging markets, where HSBC is the leading international bank, growth remained strong in the period as real asset prices continued to rise and infrastructure development continued to boost economic growth, which supported consumer confidence and spending. However, a number of these economies are now facing increasing inflationary pressures as their consumption of commodities, energy and foodstuffs grows. 

Slowing global economy

The outlook for the near term remains highly challenging with significant uncertainty. Globally, consumer confidence is declining and despite the short-term success of the recent fiscal stimulus, the US economy continues to be weak, driven by continuing housing market difficulties. The UK and other economies in Europe which had enjoyed housing market booms, have also weakened. The decline in credit availability is accelerating this process.

We expect growth in emerging markets will hold up reasonably well, albeit with less momentum than in the recent past. In Asia, compared with the buoyant conditions of last year, it is apparent that corporate activity in some sectors is slowing and demand for equity-related and wealth products has reduced as equity markets have declined.

Positioning HSBC for long-term growth

It is clear that growth models in our industry based on high and increasing leverage will no longer be sustainable. It is also clear that complexity in financial services and the recent consequences of failed risk management need to be addressed. Along with its supervisors, our industry - including lenders, underwriters and investors - needs to reflect on the lessons for risk management, capital adequacy and funding. Ultimately, the real economy will recover from this crisis, although it may get worse before it gets better. Financial markets will not, and should not, return to the status quo ante.

Through this period of major uncertainty and beyond, we will continue to position HSBC for long-term growth. The major global long-term trends - the key drivers of change which underline our strategic thinking - remain intact. Emerging markets will grow faster than mature ones; world trade and investment will grow faster than world GDP; and the ageing of the world's population continues. All of these trends have significant implications for financial services. 

We will continue to build HSBC's platform to serve our customers as these trends shape their societies, their businesses and their own needs. We will focus investment primarily on the faster growing markets and on servicing developed market customers with international connectivity. Our capital and balance sheet strength, and a commitment to strict cost control, will continue to underpin our performance.

While the near term poses real uncertainties and difficulties, it may also create opportunities for HSBC to accelerate the execution of our strategy. In a stressed environment, HSBC has the advantages of a powerful brand, a strong capital and funding position, and the ability to service our international customers around the world. We continue to have the capacity to deploy capital at a time when others may be constrained. The strength of our funding base means that, in many markets, we have an opportunity to attract new customers and deliver more for existing ones. We take a long-term view of our business and our customer relationships; we believe that this is the basis for sustainable long-term performance for our shareholders. We will never depart from this. With 335,000 colleagues, we will continue to serve our over 100 million customers around the world, working to fulfil their financial needs.

Stephen Green, Group Chairman 

4 August 2008

Resilient performance in a challenging environment

HSBC is the 'world's local bank'. And we are the world's leading international bank in emerging markets. This gives us the opportunity to create value by focusing on faster growing markets, moving towards 60 per cent of our pre-tax profit coming from these economies over time. In developed markets, we are focusing both on businesses with international customers where emerging markets connectivity is critical and on businesses with local customers where our global scale means we can create efficiencies for them and us. Finally we have a suite of global products where we have a competitive advantage from scale, expertise and brand.

Our geographic balance and broad customer base is a protection which allowed us, in difficult markets, to achieve a pre-tax profit of US$10.2 billion, albeit 28 per cent lower than in the first half of 2007.

We measure our progress against key performance indicators. Our cost efficiency ratio of 51 per cent was within our range of 48-52 per cent, as we managed the balance between controlling costs and investing in the business.

Our total shareholder return was also on target for the period; top five in our peer group of 27 international banks. 

On capital ratios, which reflect HSBC's fundamental commitment to financial strength, our tier 1 ratio remained strong at 8.8 per cent, within the target range of 7.5-9 per cent.

Our return on total shareholders' equity at 12.1 per cent was below our target range of 15 to 19 per cent over the full cycle, but we would expect that in these difficult times.

Expanding Commercial Banking 

Commercial Banking is a core business for us and it again performed strongly with pre-tax profit up by 35 per cent to US$4.6 billion. This included a gain of US$425 million from the sale of the UK card-acquiring business to a joint venture with Global Payments Inc. Excluding this, the growth was 22 per cent.

In keeping with our strategy, around 70 per cent of the business growth - excluding the card-acquiring gain - came from emerging economies, which now account for 54 per cent of Commercial Banking's global profit before tax. Growth was strong in Asia-Pacific, Brazil and the Middle East, reflecting our established positions in these markets, particularly in mainland China, where we are substantially raising our Commercial Banking presence. In addition, profit before tax grew strongly in Brazil as transaction, lending and foreign exchange volumes grew, while loan impairment charges fell. 

In the UK, profit before tax grew by 23 per cent, excluding the card acquiring gain, as Commercial Banking continued to expand with strong deposit growth, and increased fee income from card-issuing and foreign-exchange initiatives. Despite a 13 per cent growth in lending, we kept loan impairment charges in the UK broadly unchanged. In North America, profitability was affected by the slowing economy and by market interest rates. Loan impairment charges increased in both the US and Canada, while in the US and Bermuda, net interest income on liabilities was adversely affected by lower US dollar interest rates.

Commercial Banking grew its small business customer base by 8 per cent to 2.9 million, with particular growth in Turkey, Taiwan, India and mainland China. We are committed to the small business sector as a profit-growth opportunity, a strong source of deposits and fee income.

More and more of our commercial customers are now using our Business Direct service to do their banking online and by telephone. Since its launch in the UK two years ago, and in Brazil last year, over 150,000 businesses have signed up. We will launch in India and Northern Ireland in the second half.

We recognise that our particular advantage in the commercial markets sector is our ability to grow our cross-border income by being where our customers are, participating at both ends of international transactions. Our Commercial Banking revenues are growing at over four times the rate of world trade. 

We are further developing our Global Links customer referral system, and cross-border referrals increased by 126 per cent to over 2,700. The aggregate value of these transactions increased by 83 per cent to US$5.6 billion. We continue to join up across functions, with revenues of Global Markets foreign exchange increasing by 44 per cent, and Commercial Banking referrals to Private Banking increasing net new money by 80 per cent.

Personal Financial Services: continued difficulties in the US, strength elsewhere

Profit before tax in Personal Financial Services fell by 51 per cent to US$2.3 billion. This was largely due to the higher loan impairment charges in the US consumer finance business. Elsewhere, the business performed strongly, with pre-tax profits excluding US consumer finance up by 23 per cent.

In emerging markets, we had a very strong six months. We maintained revenue momentum in Rest of Asia-Pacific as well as building out our branch network, with 63 new branches, notably in Greater China. We grew our business in the Middle East profitably on the back of balance sheet growth, and in Latin America with an increased share of credit cards in Mexico and strong deposit growth in Brazil.

We strengthened our position in the UK mortgage market with our successful RateMatcher campaign. Market share of new mortgage lending rose from 3 per cent in the first half of 2007 to 6 per cent in 2008, peaking at 12 per cent in May. We also grew our international customer base in France, through our Investor Services unit.

As part of our 'Joining up the company' strategy, we are focusing on attracting the affluent, high end, internationally mobile personal customers who we believe HSBC suits best. HSBC Premier was designed with these customers in mind. We attracted 208,000 new customers in the first half and now have close to 2.4 million in total. We are on track to achieve 2.6 million Premier customers by the end of the year.

We originally estimated that half of these customers would be new to HSBC but, in the period, over 80 per cent were new to the bank. Each customer generates an average annualised revenue of over US$2,000. This is further evidence that 'Joining up the company' is creating new revenue streams.

HSBC Direct, our online banking system, is also ahead of our expectations. In the face of the industry's desire to raise core deposits, we experienced stiff competition, particularly in the US, and it is testimony to our brand's strength that despite this, we increased our customer base by 15 per cent to 1.2 million customers and grew total deposits by 19 per cent to US$16.1 billion. The intrinsic value of HSBC Direct will increase further as we begin to achieve cross-sales of other products to these customers.

We continued to expand One HSBC Cards, our global cards platform. In emerging markets, card growth was 5 per cent.

Personal Financial Services - US update

In the US, our Personal Financial Services business made a loss of US$2.2 billion. Loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions rose by 85 per cent on the first half of 2007 to US$6.8 billion, but declined by 15 per cent compared with the second half. The US remains a difficult market, with rising unemployment and falling house prices, and we have recognised this with an impairment charge of US$527 million on the goodwill of our North American Personal Financial Services businesses at Group level. 

We continued to take decisive action to mitigate our position. In the first half of 2008, excluding goodwill impairment, we reduced costs by 12 per cent compared with the first half of 2007. We continued to shrink the consumer lending branch network, from 1,000 to 900 branches.

Today, we have announced the run-off of our vehicle finance business. Our vehicle finance portfolio actually improved credit quality over the period but the business does not have sufficient critical mass or the pricing power to provide an acceptable return to the Group, and so we will not be originating further loans. We expect an orderly run-off of about 80 per cent of the portfolio of US$13 billion to be achieved in 3 years, with the remaining balance trailing off after that time.

Our US-based consumer finance business will now be focused mainly on cards and consumer lending. 

In mortgage services, we reduced the portfolio outstandings by 13 per cent during the period, down from US$36 billion to US$31 billion, of which around 60 per cent was from repayments.

Emerging markets strength in Global Banking and Markets

Global Banking and Markets made a pre-tax profit of US$2.7 billion, down 35 per cent over the first half of 2007 but 37 per cent higher than in the second half. In emerging markets, profit before tax was up by 51 per cent.

We wrote down US$3.9 billion on credit trading, monoline exposures and leveraged acquisition financing loans. This reflected the effect of market illiquidity across all asset-backed and structured-product sectors. HSBC's exposure to illiquid markets and the consequent uncertainty over mark-to-market values remains modest with only 3 per cent of our assets having to be valued with reference to significant unobservable price inputs. We have no material exposure to collateralised debt obligations backed by US sub-prime mortgages.

In the half, we created a stable funding basis for our Structured Investment Vehicles ('SIVs') by establishing new securities investment conduits. Since the end of 2007, assets held by the SIVs and the new conduits and consolidated on HSBC's balance sheet have declined by US$11 billion to US$29 billion, primarily as assets have been sold or run off. 

Our foreign exchange business reported record revenues. The gains reflected greater market volatility and higher customer volumes. Strong results were seen in Rates where increased customer activity and growth in deal volumes increased income. 

Global Transaction Banking operates across Commercial Banking and Global Banking and Markets. It generated US$4.6 billion of revenue in the first half of 2008, up by US$0.7 billion. Payments and cash management revenues were 10 per cent ahead of the first half of 2007, the strong liability growth offsetting the effect of declining spreads following rate cuts. Trade and supply chain performed strongly, increasing by 27 per cent despite retail weakness in the US and the UK.

We continued to concentrate on Global Banking and Markets' emerging markets-led and financing-focused strategy. The relevance of that cross-border strategy and the strength of HSBC's corporate and institutional franchise was illustrated by the number of transactions in which we acted on behalf of our clients. In the first half of 2008, HSBC acted for more than 700 clients in 29 sectors in some 60 countries. The notional value of these transactions amounted to more than a trillion US dollars. 

Recognition for what has been achieved included being awarded Best Emerging Market Bank by Euromoney. We closed a number of landmark cross-border deals, including Vale's US$12.2 billion global equity offering, the largest ever follow-on offering by a Latin American company. We advised Ford on the US$2.3 billion sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover businesses to Tata Motors and we were sole book runner of PetroRabigh's US$1.2 billion IPO, the first IPO by a Saudi Aramco affiliate.

Expanding Private Banking in emerging markets

Private Banking pre-tax profits increased by 5 per cent to US$822 million, primarily due to strong performances in Switzerland and Monaco. In difficult times, we increased total client assets by 1 per cent in the first half of 2008 to US$499 billion. Private Banking generates 59 per cent of its business from clients in emerging markets. We have recently opened three new Private Banking offices in mainland China. 

Overall, referrals to Private Banking from other customer groups have increased by 28 per cent. Net new money from referrals is up over 70 per cent, to US$3.4 billion.

Building our insurance proposition

We continue to develop our insurance business worldwide, which now represents 16 per cent of the Group's pre-tax profit. Premium growth was up by 30 per cent, driven mainly by Latin America, Hong Kong and Europe. 

Insurance extended its reach with the start of operations in India and the launch of our joint venture in South Korea. Our Preferred Strategic Providers now operate in 23 countries with 82 product launches under way, emphasising the power of HSBC's distribution capabilities.

We won several industry awards, including 'Best Life Insurance Provider' in Brazil and a Labels d'Excellence award in France. 

Transforming our customers' experience by Joining up the Company 

'Joining up the company' is about increasing revenues, particularly those which are new to the bank, and slowing cost growth. In previous paragraphs, I have outlined growth coming from Premier, Global Links and Private Banking and we expect this to continue. However, we are also working to develop the synergies that can be achieved by commonality of technology and process through 'One HSBC', particularly as it relates to reducing our cost base in developed markets. A slowing of the Group's cost growth is evident in our results for this half year.

One HSBC is our programme to re-engineer the company so that wherever possible we use global systems which provide leading customer experience and also drive down the cost of production. For example, One HSBC Call Centre is reducing call times for our customers' most frequent transactions. One HSBC Collections improves our service and contact capabilities through holistic customer level views versus individual account views. About three-quarters of the Group's global credit card base is now on the One HSBC Cards platform, and in 2008 we will be undertaking conversions in India and Indonesia. Standardising our service proposition under the One HSBC programme has cut our service interruptions in half.

We can now deploy One HSBC systems in a country as a fully integrated package. This is particularly beneficial in our emerging markets as the suite reduces bespoke software costs as well as producing operating benefits. In the first half of 2008, we deployed the One HSBC suite in seven countries (Poland, Brunei, Australia, Russia, Chile, Indonesia and Slovakia). We aim to deploy it in another seven countries in the second half of the year. Migration to our standard One HSBC will play a major part in creating value for customers and shareholders in the coming years. I will update you on our further progress at the year-end.

Continued focus on financial strength

We live in uncertain times, but we have a clear strategy that we are implementing in a focused and effective way. In April, HSBC was named the number one company in the Forbes 2000 list of the world's largest companies - the first time a non-US company has topped the list. We were also named 

The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks 2008, for total tier 1 capital.

Our current customers, and our new customers, know we are here to serve and support them, wherever they wish to do business under the HSBC brand in the 85 countries and territories in which we operate. 

We know that to extract HSBC's full value for shareholders, we must continue to 'Join up the company' for the benefit of all. We have a long way to go, but value can and will be created by staying focused on this objective.

I would like to thank all our 335,000 staff for serving our over 100 million customers and protecting the interests of our 200,000 shareholders by remaining true to the fundamental principles of HSBC.

Michael Geoghegan, Group Chief Executive 

4 August 2008

 

END

 

 

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