HSBC profits up in Asia, amid talks of 600 job losses

Europe’s biggest bank HSBC Holdings Plc have announced a rise in asset sales in Asia resulting in an increase in third-quarter profits offsetting the ailing economy in America where bad loans increased.

HSBC said that in the third quarter markdowns on asset-backed securities were $4.8 billion, The London-based bank said that they set aside $4.3 billion for the defaults in US loans.

Since the beginning of 2006 until the first half of this year HSBC has lost $38 billion in writedowns on US subprime bad loans. However HSBC still insist that they do not need any government cash injection from the UK and that they have sufficient capital, unlike its competitors, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HBOS who have all agreed to government help.

In the first half of 2008 HSBC profits fell 20 percent, resulting in 1,100 job cuts in its global banking and markets division, this included investment and corporate banking. The Third Quarter Profit comes hours after reports that HSBC could be cutting 600 jobs in Asia due to a worsening economy.

Source: Bloomberg