HSBC profit rises despite bad debt charges (MarketWatch) (12-05-2008)

LONDON (MarketWatch) - HSBC Holdings said Monday that its first-quarter profit was up from a year ago on higher profits from Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American markets, which helped offset rising both bad-debt charges in the U.S. and a write-down at its investment banking arm.

The bank said loan impairment charges in its U.S. consumer finance business were $3.2 billion in the quarter, double the $1.6 billion it reported a year earlier, but at the lower end of analyst expectations. The bad-debt charge was also down from $4.6 billion in the last quarter of 2007.

The group also said Monday that its global banking and markets arm took a write-down of $2.6 billion, including $500 million on subprime assets, $1.1 billion of non-subprime credit trading assets and $700 million on its exposure to bond insurers.

The stock is up 5.3% since the start of the year, compared to declines of 12% for Barclays and 35% for UBS.

On Monday the group said its Hong Kong business benefited from growth in deposit balances and margins as well as an expansion in commercial lending.

Meanwhile in India, profit growth was driven by stronger foreign exchange revenues from the investment banking arm due to currency volatility and growth in new customers.

  Source MarketWatch