No 5 CCF Final Results (1/1)

HSBC Holdings PLC
4 March 2002

The following is an English translation of the results news release issued in
French by CCF, HSBC Holdings plc's subsidiary in France.

                                      CCF

                               FINAL RESULTS 2001

Earnings up for the 18th consecutive year

CCF achieved growth in earnings despite a steady deterioration in the economic
and financial climate throughout the year.

After restatement for major disposals and acquisitions made during 2000 and
2001, together with a number of exceptional items ^, net attributable profit
amounted to €565 million, a rise of 7.4 per cent on 2000. Before
restatements, net attributable profit totalled €517 million, up 8.3 per
cent. The major disposals and acquisitions were: the disposal of CCF Brazil,
overseas branches, Charterhouse businesses, offshore private banking
subsidiaries, Credit International d'Egypte, the acquisition of Banque Hervet,
and the integration into CCF of HSBC Bank plc's branches in France, Spain,
Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands.

Despite the impact of a deterioration in market conditions, net operating income
rose by 4.6 per cent to €2,502 million, compared with €2,392
million in 2000 on a comparable basis. In this difficult climate, costs were
kept well under control. Growth in operating costs was limited to 1.7 per cent
compared with 2000, whilst maintaining strategic investment in key businesses.
Consequently, operating profit before provisions rose by 11 per cent to
€838 million compared with 2000 on a comparable basis.

Shareholders' funds amounted to €3.5 billion, after the year's transfer
to retained earnings. The Tier One capital ratio remained high at 8.1 per cent
while return on equity, calculated on the basis of restated net profit, stood at
15.6 per cent.

In the light of these results the Board is proposing a dividend of €5.60
per share, an increase of 36.6 per cent over 2000. The total dividend payment
will be €422 million, compared with €307 million for 2000.

Commenting on these results, Charles de Croisset, Chairman of CCF, said: "Once
again, CCF has produced good results. Although some businesses were affected by
tough economic conditions, performance was resilient on the whole, and our
portfolio activities turned in a highly positive performance."

^ Principally capital gains or losses on these disposals, mainly comprising
the €177 million capital gain realised, in 2001, when the private
banking business was reorganised, restructuring costs and provisions for
liability commitments made to employees of certain subsidiaries and the
€130 million fund for general banking risks created when the private
banking business was reorganised.

"I am very optimistic about the new development opportunities which have opened
up to us in France and its major neighbouring countries as a result of our
integration into the HSBC Group."

Business Segment Results

CCF's integration into HSBC and changes in structure

The key stages of CCF's integration into HSBC are now complete. The full
benefits are already being felt in corporate and investment banking,
significantly improving HSBC CCF's competitive position through its ability to
offer major corporate clients new opportunities by drawing on the Group's
worldwide network. It also provides new opportunities in asset management and
private banking.

Some major structural changes have been made in order to rationalise locations
outside the Euro-zone. CCF Brazil has become part of a new entity called HSBC
Investment Bank Brazil, while Credit International d'Egypte has been sold.

Conversely, CCF has taken over managerial responsibility for HSBC Bank plc's
branches in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands, merging its own
branches with those of HSBC Bank plc.

In March 2001, CCF acquired Banque Hervet, strengthening its position in
personal and commercial banking. Banque Hervet has 86 branches and over 100,000
clients, principally in central France and the Paris region, where it boosted
retail banking operating income by 26 per cent.

In private banking, CCF passed ownership of its offshore banking operations in
Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco to HSBC Republic, the Group's international
private banking business, in which CCF received a significant shareholding.

CCF has also bought out the minority interests in Banque Dewaay in Belgium, and
in Sinopia, its specialist quantitative asset management subsidiary, both of
which are now wholly-owned subsidiaries.

At the same time, CCF maintained efforts to improve its organisation, and
continued to focus strongly on the efficiency of its risk control and compliance
systems, mainly through the implementation of HSBC Group procedures.

Retail and Commercial Banking

After an excellent year in 2000, retail and commercial banking showed good
resilience to the more difficult conditions in 2001. Net operating income grew
by 1 per cent to €1,356 million and operating profit before provisions
rose by 3 per cent to €386 million on a comparable basis. This
performance was driven principally by strong demand for credit, with the retail
network's customer advances up 7.1 per cent to €17.4 billion, and CCF
network commercial loans were up as much as 15 per cent. Another factor was the
improvement in interest spreads.

The CCF retail network's operating profit before provisions fell by 11 per cent
after a 16 per cent rise in 2000, due to its high level customer profile, which
makes it more sensitive to market movements. The CCF retail network continued to
invest heavily in e-banking, with the remodelling of ccf.fr which is now used by
12 per cent of its customers, and the development of "Elys PC", a highly
innovative service designed for business customers. Such initiatives will
contribute to the development of CCF's multichannel strategy.

The banking subsidiaries, which are less exposed to the financial markets,
achieved an excellent performance. Operating profit before provisions rose by 20
per cent on a comparable basis driven by strong commercial momentum coupled with
strict control over costs, which were down 1 per cent on a comparable basis. At
Societe Marseillaise de Credit, the major recovery plan undertaken after its
acquisition in 1998 has now begun to bear fruit, with operating profit before
provisions up 46 per cent to €52 million. In its first year as part of
the CCF group, Banque Hervet made a positive contribution even after
amortisation of goodwill and funding costs.

Corporate and Investment Banking

Corporate and Investment Banking suffered mixed fortunes during 2001. Corporate
banking drew the full benefit of synergies extracted from its integration with
the HSBC Group, posting 21 per cent growth in operating profit before
provisions. Major investments were made in cash management, with the launch of
Hexagon, a service offered by the HSBC Group, and in international finance.
These services should strengthen CCF's position with the major French corporate
groups and generate new growth opportunities in the future.

Fixed-income and forex capital market activities capitalised on the gradual fall
in interest rates until November and the exceptionally high volatility in the
markets, posting strong growth in earnings, with a 51 per cent rise in operating
profit before provisions. CCF has played a crucial role in bolstering the HSBC
Group's position in the euro markets, improving the Group's ranking from 22nd
place in 1999 to 6th place in 2001 in the Euro Corporate Bonds league table.
HSBC was also nominated by Euroweek magazine as Europe's third best provider of
fixed income products to investors in 2001.

By contrast, merchant banking, which encompasses equity brokerage, mergers and
acquisitions, and structured finance, faced difficult conditions in the stock
markets. Operating profit before provisions was down by 42 per cent although a 9
per cent reduction in costs contained the cost-income ratio to 62.5 per cent.
The business benefited from its integration within HSBC's pan-European system,
along with the corporate banking business as a whole. The benefits should begin
to flow through substantially in a more buoyant climate.

HSBC Bank plc branches in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands,
which are now managed by CCF, achieved a satisfactory performance, despite a
contraction in operating profit before provisions down 21.3 per cent on 2000,
due to the cost of integrating CCF and HSBC branches in Spain and Italy.

Asset Management and Private Banking

This division was also affected by the challenging conditions in the financial
markets. Assets under management fell to €58.6 billion, a decline of 8
per cent of which 6.4 per cent was due to market effect. This put downward
pressure on revenue generation.

Heavy investment is being made in HSBC Asset Management Europe in order to
strengthen its position both in France and Italy. CCF's acquisition of the
minority interests in Sinopia should offer new growth opportunities as the
expert in quantitative asset management and the specialist in guaranteed and
structured products for the entire HSBC Group. Elysees-Fonds, a specialist in
employee savings schemes, has undertaken a major reorganisation programme and
launched a new line of "Loi Fabius products" to strengthen its position in what
is expected to be a high growth market. However, these preparations for future
growth have inevitably led to a rise in operating costs. Consequently, coupled
with the contraction in operating income, operating profit before provisions
fell by 38 per cent.

CCF's private banking business is undergoing a major reorganisation, alongside
other private banking businesses within the HSBC Group. The merger of CCF's
subsidiaries and those of HSBC Republic in Luxembourg and Monaco, and HSBC
Guyerzeller in Switzerland, should lead to substantial reductions in overheads.
Similarly, the agreement reached at the end of the financial year to buy out
minority shareholders in Banque Dewaay will make it easier to integrate this
bank with other onshore private banks in France and Belgium. Although money
inflows from customers remain resilient, very tough market conditions and
restructuring costs have dragged down operating profit before provision in the
private banking business, by 21 per cent for the French subsidiaries, and by 45
per cent for foreign entities. Banque du Louvre has confirmed its expertise by
gaining excellent fund performance rankings.

Finally, Private Equity and Portfolio operations also recorded a strong year
thanks notably to the disposal of the Superdiplo stake, coming from the former
CCF subsidiary Charterhouse Development Capital.

About CCF

CCF joined the HSBC Group in July 2000. The HSBC Group has more than 7,000
offices in 81 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the
Americas, the Middle East and Africa.

For more information about CCF, its activities, products and services, visit
www.ccf.com

Main items of consolidated profit and loss accounts
2001 Annual Restated Results ^ -                      At 31Dec01                At 31Dec00            2001/2000
Comparison
Figures in € million                                                                                  % variation

Operating income                                             2,502                     2,392                 +4.6 %
Operating expenses                                          (1,664 )                  (1,637 )               +1.7 %
Operating profit before provisions                             838                       755                +11.0 %
Net provisions for loan losses, off-
  balance sheet, other items                                     7      ^^               (14 )                  -
                                                                      
Profit attributable to shareholders                            565                       527                 +7.4 %

^ Results for 2000 and 2001 have been restated in order to integrate the major
disposals and acquisitions made during 2000 and 2001 (disposal of CCF Brazil,
foreign branches, a large part of Charterhouse, offshore private banking
subsidiaries and Credit International d'Egypte, acquisition of Banque Hervet and
integration of HSBC Bank plc branches in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and The
Netherlands), together with a number of exceptional items, principally capital
gains or losses on these disposals, mainly comprising the €177 million
capital gain realised, in 2001, when the private banking business was
reorganised, restructuring costs and provisions for liability commitments made
to employees of certain subsidiaries, and the €130 million fund for
general banking risks created when the private banking business was reorganised.

^^ In 2001, as in 2000, net loan provisions were reduced by large
write-backs of country risk provisions (€59.1 million in 2001 as opposed
to €39.5 million in 2000). Customer risk provisions, excluding SMC,
totalled €72.7 million in 2001 against €51.6 million in 2000.

Results before restatements -                          At 31Dec01            At 31Dec00             2001/2000
Comparison
Figures in € million                                                                      % variation

Operating income                                            2,456                 2,479                  -0.9 %
Operating expenses                                         (1,627 )              (1,675 )                -2.9 %
Operating profit before provisions                            829                   804                  +3.1 %
Net provisions for loan losses, off-
  balance sheet, other items                                    1                   (27 )                   -
Profit attributable to shareholders                           517                   478                  +8.3 %



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