- Both Campaigns Seize on Romney’s Years at Bain
- What Would Greek Exit Mean for the US Economy?
- Big European Funds Confirm Dumping Euro Assets
- Why Are Greek and Italian Politicians So Bad?
- Time for Flash Sales to Adapt or Die
- HMO Stocks May Struggle Over Health Claim Costs
- ECB Official: On Greece, ‘We Are Working on Plan A’
- Spain: Too Poor to Win a Singing Contest?
- China Counter-Challenges US Over Subsidies at WTO
- Top 20 European Stocks for Crisis Time: Strategist
- Curt Schilling’s Videogame Company Goes Bust
- Time for Flash Sales to Adapt or Die
- What Flash Sites Are Suggesting About Consumers
- Hewlett-Packard Faces a ‘Dogfight’ for Talent: Analyst
- Laouchez: Leadership in Financial Services — Missing in Action?
- DuckDuckGo Cooks Google’s Goose: Analyst
- Growing Sub-Prime Auto Loans - New Troubles for Automakers?
- General Electric’s $4.5 Billion Dividend Slated for Buybacks
MOST SHARED
- China Counter-Challenges US Over Subsidies at WTO
- What Would Greek Exit Mean for the US Economy?
- Heard in More US States: See You in Tax Court!
- Bankia Shares Suspended Ahead of Rescue Details
- Option Bulls Take Another Shot on Idenix
- Why Are Greek and Italian Politicians So Bad?
- Shares to Open Higher; Fears Over Greece Persist
- Spain: Too Poor to Win a Singing Contest?
- Markets: Out of Stock
- In Spain, Bank Transfers Reflect Broader Fears
MOST POPULAR
HOT ON FACEBOOK
HSBC Outranks Citi as West's Most Valuable Bank
Text Size 
HSBC Holdings was one of the first and most exposed banks to the U.S. housing crisis, but the recent bigger problems of leading rivals mean its shares have outperformed to make it the West's biggest bank.
HSBC [HBC
Loading...
()
] shares have been knocked by the global financial crisis that has hit the sector, but their decline has been modest compared with big rivals such as Citigroup [C
Loading...
()
] and it is now the only non-Chinese bank with a market value of over $200 billion.
HSBC shares dipped 1.6 percent on Monday to 892 pence, having lost 7 percent in the last month.
But during that time the DJ Stoxx European banking index has fallen 10 percent and the DJ U.S. banks index has shed 17 percent.
Bank shares have been hit by big write-offs related to U.S. subprime housing exposures and investment banking income, coupled with fears a credit crunch will crimp revenue from capital markets activity next year and beyond.
HSBC issued its first profit warning earlier this year due to its U.S. housing market exposure and subsequently took a $10.6 billion hit for bad debts, but it has benefited from its increasing focus on Asia and emerging markets.
More significant for its outperformance is its strong capital position, which often means its shares outperform peers in turbulent markets, analysts have said.
In contrast, shares in U.S. bank Citigroup have tumbled by a quarter in the past month. On Sunday Citi replaced its chairman and said it could write off billions more dollars in mortgage losses.
Citi's market value has fallen under $180 billion while Bank of America's value also dipped below $200 billion on Monday.
HSBC, with a market worth of near $220 billion, ranks only behind China's big three banks, according to Reuters data. ICBC, which listed a year ago, is the biggest bank with a market value of about $360 billion, followed by Construction Bank and Bank of China.
Activist investor Knight Vinke last month stepped up a campaign targeted at HSBC and said its shares had underperformed peers in the past 14 years.
- The government wants help for its investigation into the mortgage backed security fiasco of 2008.
- Where do the happiest and most optimistic of Asian millionaires live? Click through to find out.
- These athletes are notable for brief moments in the sun and leaving their fame on the field.
- China has been ramping up investments around the world. Here’s a list of the top ten countries.
- Is there a Machiavellian scheme to create a United States of Europe? Patrick Allen looks into it.
- Now you can eat your way across America all year long, from one sizzling bacon festival to another.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
