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摘要

Few top-tier banks have yet emerged from the global banking crisis unscathed and HSBC is no exception. Like many of its peers, the bank - which was the first to flag up subprime-related losses - has written down bad debts totalling more than $15bn. Nevertheless, the global giant remains relatively robust while its peers falter and seek government-backed recapitalisation. Group chief operating officer David Hodgkinson says HSBC has always maintained a conservative model: "Being truly international, we cannot rely on any one country to bail us out. So we've had to model our business as if there is no lender of last resort."