HSBC profits at $21.9 billion on strong Asia growth

Europe's largest bank, HSBC Holdings, made a $21.9 billion profit last year, the largest among western banks, due to its Asian strength which allowed it cope with a euro zone debt crisis that has plunged many rivals into huge losses.

HSBC, which makes more than three quarters of its pretax profit outside Europe and north America, said today, it expected strong growth across Asia, Latin American and Middle Eastern markets in 2012, though at a somewhat modest rate than in 2011.

Banks across Europe have been reporting losses of billions of dollars with the euro zone sovereign debt crisis eroding the value of their government bond holdings and hitting their trading operations, as they strive to meet tough new rules at preventing a repeat of the 2007-09 banking crisis.

HSBC, has 7,200 offices in 80 countries. The bank said pretax profit was up 15 per cent, which was just less than average forecast of $22.2 billion in a Reuters poll.

The figure was a lower than the group's record profit of $24.2 billion in 2007, though, it was the highest among all western banks that had come out with their results, including US rival JP Morgan, which made a $19 billion profit.

The most profitable banks in recent years have been China's ICBC with $32 billion in 2010, and China Construction Bank, which reported a profit of $26.4 billion.