Interim Report - 14 of 21

RNS Number : 3124X

HSBC Holdings PLC

14 August 2009

 



protection, annuities, term assurance and critical illness cover and linked contracts.

Non-life insurance contracts include motor, fire and other damage to property, accident and health, repayment protection and commercial insurance.

The principal insurance risk faced by HSBC is that, over time, the combined cost of claims, administration and acquisition of the contract may exceed the aggregate amount of premiums received and investment income. 

In respect of financial risks, subsidiaries manufacturing products with guarantees are usually exposed to falls in market interest rates and equity prices to the extent that the market exposure cannot be managed by utilising a discretionary bonus feature within the policy. 

HSBC manages its exposure to insurance risk by applying formal underwriting, reinsurance and claims-handling procedures designed to ensure compliance with regulations and insurance risk appetite, the latter proposed by local businesses and authorised centrally. This is supplemented by undertaking stress testing. The following tables provide an analysis of the insurance risk exposures by geography and by type of business. Life business tends to be longer term in nature than non-life business and frequently involves an element of savings and investment in the contract. Separate tables are therefore provided for life and non-life businesses, reflecting their distinctive risk characteristics. The life insurance risk table provides an analysis of insurance liabilities as the best available overall measure of insurance exposure, because provisions for life contracts are typically set by reference to expected future cash outflows relating to the underlying policies. The table for nonߛlife business uses written premiums as the best available measure of risk exposure, because policies are usually measured by reference to the risk being underwritten.

HSBC's management of insurance risk, including the risks relating to different life and non-life products, is described on page 255 in the Annual Report and Accounts 2008.

Analysis of life insurance risk - liabilities to policyholders1 

	Europe		Hong     Kong		Rest of     Asia-     Pacific		North     America		Latin     America		Total
	US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m
At 30 June 2009
Life (non-linked)
Insurance contracts with DPF2	1,054		12,687		208		-		-		13,949
Credit life	649		-		12		57		-		718
Annuities	430		-		28		788		1,349		2,595
Term assurance and other long-term contracts	1,244		177		156		190		423		2,190
Total life (non-linked)	3,377		12,864		404		1,035		1,772		19,452
Life (linked)	1,817		2,542		348		-		2,624		7,331
Investment contracts with DPF2,3	18,834		-		33		-		-		18,867
Insurance liabilities to policyholders	24,028		15,406		785		1,035		4,396		45,650
At 30 June 2008
Life (non-linked)
Insurance contracts with DPF2	1,094		9,744		238		-		-		11,076
Credit life	280		-		-		72		-		352
Annuities	484		-		29		826		1,697		3,036
Term assurance and other long-term contracts	933		79		97		131		341		1,581
Total life (non-linked)	2,791		9,823		364		1,029		2,038		16,045
Life (linked)	2,289		2,263		429		-		2,751		7,732
Investment contracts with DPF2,3	20,218		-		45		-		-		20,263
Insurance liabilities to policyholders	25,298		12,086		838		1,029		4,789		44,040

Analysis of life insurance risk - liabilities to policyholders1 (continued)

	Europe		Hong     Kong		Rest of     Asia-     Pacific		North     America		Latin     America		Total
	US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m
At 31 December 2008
Life (non-linked)
Insurance contracts with DPF2	1,015		11,213		216		-		-		12,444
Credit life	252		-		-		65		-		317
Annuities	379		-		28		805		1,363		2,575
Term assurance and other long-term contracts	1,316		107		99		136		376		2,034
Total life (non-linked)	2,962		11,320		343		1,006		1,739		17,370
Life (linked)	1,548		2,276		310		-		1,933		6,067
Investment contracts with DPF2,3	17,732		-		34		-		-		17,766
Insurance liabilities to policyholders	22,242		13,596		687		1,006		3,672		41,203

1    HSBC has no insurance manufacturing subsidiaries in the Middle East.

2    Insurance contracts and investment contracts with discretionary participation features ('DPF') can give policyholders the contractual right to receive, as a supplement to their guaranteed benefits, additional benefits that may be a significant portion of the total contractual benefits, but whose amount and timing is determined by HSBC. These additional benefits are contractually based on the performance of a specified pool of contracts or assets, or the profit of the company issuing the contracts. 

3    Although investment contracts with DPF are financial instruments, HSBC continues to account for them as insurance contracts as permitted by IFRS 4.

Analysis of non-life insurance risk - net written insurance premiums1,2

	Europe		Hong     Kong		Rest of     Asia-    Pacific		North     America		Latin     America		Total
	US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m
Half-year to 30 June 2009
Accident and health	44		85		2		1		9		141
Motor	112		6		9		-		120		247
Fire and other damage	41		19		2		7		14		83
Liability	-		9		2		-		11		22
Credit (non-life)	-		-		-		54		-		54
Marine, aviation and transport	1		5		2		-		9		17
Other non-life insurance contracts	19		16		-		7		14		56
Total net written insurance premiums	217		140		17		69		177		620
Net insurance claims incurred and movement in liabilities to policyholders	(315)		(56)		(7)		(70)		(75)		(523)
Half-year to 30 June 2008
Accident and health	7		76		2		-		13		98
Motor	149		7		6		-		134		296
Fire and other damage	71		13		4		1		13		102
Liability	-		9		2		-		19		30
Credit (non-life)	43		-		-		75		-		118
Marine, aviation and transport	-		7		2		-		13		22
Other non-life insurance contracts	28		14		-		8		12		62
Total net written insurance premiums	298		126		16		84		204		728
Net insurance claims incurred and movement in liabilities to policyholders	(268)		(50)		(5)		(41)		(82)		(446)
Half-year to 31 December 2008
Accident and health	7		79		3		3		14		106
Motor	201		8		8		-		139		356
Fire and other damage	78		13		-		3		9		103
Liability	-		5		2		-		15		22
Credit (non-life)	56		-		-		69		-		125
Marine, aviation and transport	-		4		2		-		11		17
Other non-life insurance contracts	21		14		-		7		17		59
Total net written insurance premiums	363		123		15		82		205		788
Net insurance claims incurred and movement in liabilities to policyholders	(285)		(71)		(8)		(57)		(94)		(515)

• Net written insurance premiums represent gross written premiums less gross written premiums ceded to reinsurers.

2    HSBC has no insurance manufacturing subsidiaries in the Middle East.

Balance sheet of insurance manufacturing operations by type of contract

A principal tool used by HSBC to manage its exposure to insurance risk, in particular for life insurance contracts, is asset and liability matching. Models are used to assess the effect of a range of possible scenarios on the future values of financial assets and associated liabilities, and ALCOs employ the outcomes in determining how the assets and liabilities should be matched. The scenarios include stresses applied to factors which affect insurance risk such as mortality and lapse rates. Of particular importance is the need to match the expected pattern of cash inflows with the benefits payable on the underlying contracts, which can extend for many years. The table below shows the composition of assets and liabilities and demonstrates that there were sufficient assets to cover the liabilities to policyholders at 30 June 2009. 

Insurance manufacturing - assets and liabilities

	Insurance contracts											Investment contracts
Contracts     with     DPF				Unit-     linked		Annu-    ities		Term     assur-     ance1		Non-life	Contracts     with     DPF2			Unit-     linked		Other		Other     assets3		Total
		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m
At 30 June 2009
Financial assets:
-     trading assets		-		-		-		-		34		-		-		-		-		34
-     financial assets designated at fair value		562		6,096		467		512		59		4,571		5,709		1,690		1,875		21,541
-     derivatives		11		-		-		11		-		4		179		76		95		376
-     financial investments		11,568		-		1,309		606		933		13,665		-		1,494		3,108		32,683
-     other financial assets		1,655		405		612		1,352		1,368		176		345		556		1,808		8,277
Total financial assets		13,796		6,501		2,388		2,481		2,394		18,416		6,233		3,816		6,886		62,911
Reinsurance assets		6		887		357		418		428		-		-		-		61		2,157
PVIF4		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		2,449		2,449
Other assets and  investment properties		175		6		31		550		232		456		22		49		530		2,051
Total assets		13,977		7,394		2,776		3,449		3,054		18,872		6,255		3,865		9,926		69,568
Liabilities under investment contracts:
- designated at fair value		-		-		-		-		-		-		6,077		3,408		-		9,485
- carried at amortised cost		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		355		-		355
Liabilities under insurance contracts		13,949		7,331		2,595		2,908		2,534		18,867		-		-		-		48,184
Deferred tax		7		7		25		34		7		1		-		3		567		651
Other liabilities		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		2,749		2,749
Total liabilities		13,956		7,338		2,620		2,942		2,541		18,868		6,077		3,766		3,316		61,424
Total equity		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		8,144		8,144
Total equity and liabilities5		13,956		7,338		2,620		2,942		2,541		18,868		6,077		3,766		11,460		69,568

Insurance manufacturing - assets and liabilities (continued)

	Insurance contracts											Investment contracts
Contracts     with     DPF				Unit-     linked		Annu-    ities		Term     assur-     ance1		Non-life	Contracts     with     DPF2			Unit-     linked		Other		Other     assets3		Total
		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m		US$m
At 30 June 2008
Financial assets:
-     trading assets		-		-		30		-		33		-		-		-		4		67
-     financial assets designated at fair value		2,328		7,136		523		485		237		5,604		11,725		1,617		2,787		32,442
-     derivatives		42		31		-		12		1		84		236		24		30		460
-     financial investments		6,448		-		1,434		410		1,058		13,559		-		1,554		2,753		27,216
-     other financial assets		2,208		475		766		924		1,174		9		607		599		2,369		9,131
Total financial assets		11,026		7,642		2,753		1,831		2,503		19,256		12,568		3,794		7,943		69,316
Reinsurance assets		4		101		396		317		530		515		-		-		67		1,930
PVIF4		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		2,344		2,344
Other assets and  investment properties		107		5		35		105		298		493		55		43		734		1,875
Total assets		11,137		7,748		3,184		2,253		3,331		20,264		12,623		3,837		11,088		75,465
Liabilities under investment contracts:
- designated at fair value		-		-		-		-		-		-		12,187		3,220		-		15,407
- carried at amortised cost		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		376		-		376
Liabilities under insurance contracts		11,076		7,732		3,036		1,933		2,811		20,263		-		-		-		46,851
Deferred tax		1		6		3		28		5		-		-		1		632		676
Other liabilities		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		3,939		3,939
Total liabilities		11,077		7,738		3,039		1,961		2,816		20,263		12,187		3,597		4,571		67,249
Total equity		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		8,216		8,216
Total equity and liabilities6		11,077		7,738		3,039		1,961		2,816		20,263		12,187		3,597		12,787		75,465
At 31 December 2008
Financial assets:
-     trading assets		-		-		-		-		35		-		-		-		4		39
-     financial assets designated at fair value		959		4,738		457		496		52		4,597		5,525		1,481		1,970		20,275
-     derivatives		27		3		-		26		-		60		170		91		24		401
-     financial investments		9,383		-		1,282		399		860		12,482		-		1,482		2,576		28,464
-     other financial assets		1,967		400		639		1,288		1,106		173		443		685		2,110		8,811
Total financial assets		12,336		5,141		2,378		2,209		2,053		17,312		6,138		3,739		6,684		57,990
Reinsurance assets		6		956		311		320		430				-				60		2,083
PVIF4		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		2,033		2,033
Other assets and  investment properties		121		3		32		71		257		459		55		54		935		1,987
Total assets		12,463		6,100		2,721		2,600		2,740		17,771		6,193		3,793		9,712		64,093
Liabilities under investment contracts:
- designated at fair value		-		-		-		-		-		-		6,012		3,271		-		9,283
- carried at amortised cost		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		284		-		284
Liabilities under insurance contracts		12,444		6,067		2,575		2,351		2,480		17,766		-		-		-		43,683
Deferred tax		8		7		22		30		1		1		-		3		515		587
Other liabilities		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		2,679		2,679
Total liabilities		12,452		6,074		2,597		2,381		2,481		17,767		6,012		3,558		3,194		56,516
Total equity		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		-		7,577		7,577
Total equity and liabilities5		12,452		6,074		2,597		2,381		2,481		17,767		6,012		3,558		10,771		64,093

1    Term assurance includes credit life insurance.

2    Although investment contracts with DPF are financial instruments, HSBC continues to account for them as insurance contracts as permitted by IFRS 4.

3    Other assets comprise shareholder assets.

4    Present value of in-force long-term insurance contracts and investment contracts with DPF.

5    Does not include assets, liabilities and shareholders' funds of associated insurance companies, Ping An Insurance and SABB Takaful, or joint venture insurance companies, Hana Life and Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited.

6    Does not include assets, liabilities and shareholders' funds of associated insurance companies, Ping An Insurance and SABB Takaful.

Capital management and allocation

Capital management

HSBC's capital management approach is driven by its strategy and organisational requirements, taking into account the regulatory, economic and commercial environment in which it operates. The Group's strategy underpins HSBC's Capital Management Framework which has been approved by the Group Management Board. It is HSBC's policy to maintain a strong capital base to support the development of its business and to meet regulatory capital requirements at all times. Through its structured internal governance processes, HSBC also maintains discipline over its investment decisions and where it allocates its capital, seeking to ensure that returns on investment are appropriate after taking account of capital costs. In addition, the level of capital held by HSBC Holdings and certain subsidiaries, particularly HSBC Finance, is determined by rating targets. 

HSBC's strategy is to allocate capital to businesses based on their economic profit generation and, within this process, regulatory and economic capital requirements and the cost of capital are key factors.

The responsibility for global capital allocation principles and decisions rests with the Group Management Board. Stress testing is used as an important mechanism in understanding the sensitivities of the core assumptions in the capital plans to the adverse impact of extreme, but plausible, events. Stress testing allows senior management to formulate management action in advance of conditions starting to reflect the stress scenarios identified. The actual market stresses which occurred throughout the financial system in 2008 have been used to inform capital planning and further develop the stress scenarios employed by the Group. The Group has identified the following as being the material risks faced and managed through the Capital Management Framework; credit, market, operational, interest rate risk in the banking book, pension fund, residual and insurance risks. All of these risks pose a significantly greater challenge in severe downturn economic conditions and the management response to these risks has, correspondingly, been intensified.

During the first half of 2009, the Group targeted a tier 1 ratio within the range 7.5 to 10.0 per cent for the purposes of its long-term capital planning. This represents a change from the 2008 range of 7.5 to 9.0 per cent and is a result of revised market expectations on capital strength and higher volatility of capital requirements resulting from procyclicality embedded within the Basel II rules.

HSBC's capital management process continues to stress the advantages and flexibility afforded by a strong capital position and, through its policies, seeks to maintain a conservative stance with regard to equity leverage.

The Capital Management Framework covers the different capital measures within which HSBC manages its capital in a consistent and aligned manner. These include market capitalisation, invested capital, economic capital and regulatory capital. HSBC defines invested capital as the equity capital invested in HSBC by its shareholders. Economic capital is the capital requirement calculated internally by HSBC deemed necessary to support the risks to which it is exposed, and is set at a confidence level consistent with a target credit rating of AA. Regulatory capital is the capital which HSBC is required to hold as determined by the rules established by the FSA for the consolidated Group and by HSBC's local regulators for individual Group companies.

An annual Group capital plan is prepared and approved by the Board with the objective of maintaining both the optimal amount of capital and the mix between the different components of capital. This plan is reviewed and updated during the year in response to both internal and external events. The Group's policy is to hold capital in a range of different forms and from diverse sources and all capital raising is agreed with major subsidiaries as part of their individual and the Group's capital management processes. HSBC Holdings and its major subsidiaries raise non-equity tier 1 capital and subordinated debt in accordance with the Group's guidelines on market and investor concentration, cost, market conditions, timing, effect on composition and maturity profile. 

Upper end of target tier 1 ratio range increased from 9 per cent to 10 per cent.

Each subsidiary manages its own capital required to support planned business growth and meet local regulatory requirements within the context of the approved annual Group capital plan. As part of HSBC's Capital Management Framework, capital generated in excess of planned requirements is returned to HSBC Holdings, normally by way of dividends.

HSBC Holdings is primarily the provider of equity capital to its subsidiaries. These investments are substantially funded by HSBC Holdings' own capital issuance and profit retentions. HSBC Holdings seeks to maintain a prudent balance between the composition of its capital and that of its investment in subsidiaries.

Capital measurement and allocation

In June 2006, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published 'International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards', known as Basel II. Basel II is structured around three 'pillars': minimum capital requirements, supervisory review process and market discipline. The Capital Requirements Directive ('CRD') implemented Basel II in the EU and the FSA then gave effect to the CRD by including the requirements of the CRD in its own rulebooks.

The FSA supervises HSBC on a consolidated basis and therefore receives information on the capital adequacy of, and sets capital requirements for, HSBC as a whole. Individual banking subsidiaries are directly regulated by their local banking supervisors, who set and monitor their capital adequacy requirements. Although HSBC calculates capital at a Group level using the Basel II framework, local regulators are at different stages of implementation and local rules may still be on a Basel I basis, notably in the US. In most jurisdictions, non-banking financial subsidiaries are also subject to the supervision and capital requirements of local regulatory authorities. 

Capital

HSBC's capital is divided into two tiers: 

• Tier 1 capital comprises shareholders' funds and minority interests in tier 1 capital, non-innovative preference shares and innovative tier 1 securities. The book values of goodwill and intangible assets are deducted from tier 1 capital and other regulatory adjustments are made for items reflected in shareholders' funds which are treated differently for the purpose of capital adequacy.

• Tier 2 capital comprises qualifying subordinated loan capital, allowable collective impairment allowances, minority and other interests in tier 2 capital and unrealised gains arising on the fair valuation of equity instruments held as available-for-sale. Tier 2 capital also includes reserves arising from the revaluation of properties.

Various limits are applied to elements of the capital base. The amount of innovative tier 1 securities cannot exceed 15 per cent of overall tier 1 capital, qualifying tier 2 capital cannot exceed tier 1 capital, and qualifying term subordinated loan capital cannot exceed 50 per cent of tier 1 capital. There are also limitations on the amount of collective impairment allowances which may be included as part of tier 2 capital. For regulatory purposes, banking associates are proportionally consolidated, rather than being recognised using the equity method used for financial reporting.

The carrying amounts of investments in the capital of banks that exceed certain limits are deducted 50 per cent from each of tier 1 and tier 2 capital in the published disclosures. This also applies to deductions of investments in insurance subsidiaries and associates, but the FSA has granted a transitional provision, until 31 December 2012, under which those insurance investments that were acquired before 20 July 2006 may be deducted from the total of tier 1 and tier 2 capital instead. HSBC has elected to apply this transitional provision.

HSBC's tier 1 ratio rose from 8.3 per cent at 31 December 2008 to 10.1 per cent at 30 June 2009.

Expected losses derived under Basel II rules represent losses that would be expected in the scenario of a severe downturn over a 12-month period. This definition differs from loan impairment allowances reflected in the accounts, which only address losses incurred within lending portfolios at the balance sheet date. Under IFRSs there is no ability to recognise the additional level of conservatism that the regulatory measure requires by the adoption of through-the-cycle, downturn and stressed conditions that may not exist at the balance sheet date. 

For disclosure purposes, the excess of expected losses over total impairment allowances in internal ratings-based ('IRB') portfolios is deducted 50 per cent from core equity tier 1 and 50 per cent from tier 2 capital. In addition, a tax credit adjustment is made to tier 1 capital to reflect the tax consequences insofar as they affect the availability of tier 1 capital to cover risks or losses.

The effect of deducting the excess of expected losses over total impairment allowances is to equate the total effect on capital with the regulatory definition of expected losses. As expected losses are based on long-term estimates and incorporate through-the-cycle considerations, these are expected to be less volatile than actual loss experience. The impact of this deduction, however, may vary from time to time as the accounting measure of impairment moves closer to or further away from the regulatory measure of expected losses.

In May 2009, the FSA published a definition of core tier 1 capital that excludes hybrid instruments such as non-innovative preference shares and innovative tier 1 securities. The definition also requires all regulatory adjustments to tier 1 capital to be made to core tier 1 capital, other than the deduction for material holdings and 50 per cent of the tax credit for expected losses. Disclosures are now made on this basis and comparatives have been adjusted accordingly.

The FSA's rules permit the inclusion of profits in tier 1 capital to the extent that they have been verified in accordance with the FSA's General Prudential Sourcebook by the external auditor. Verification procedures covering interim profits for the half-year to 30 June 2009 were completed by the external auditor on 3 August 2009 and therefore these interim profits have been included in the Group's tier 1 capital.

Credit risk

Basel II provides three approaches of increasing sophistication to the calculation of pillar 1 credit risk capital requirements. The most basic, the standardised approach, requires banks to use external credit ratings to determine the risk weightings applied to rated counterparties, group other counterparties into broad categories and apply standardised risk weightings to these categories. The next level, the IRB foundation approach, allows banks to calculate their credit risk capital requirements on the basis of their internal assessment of the probability that a counterparty will default ('PD'), but subjects their quantified estimates of exposure at default ('EAD') and loss given default ('LGD') to standard supervisory parameters. Finally, the IRB advanced approach allows banks to use their own internal assessment in both determining PD and quantifying EAD and LGD.

The regulatory measure of expected losses under the IRB approaches is calculated by multiplying PD by EAD and LGD. The capital resources requirement, which is intended to cover unexpected losses, is derived from a formula specified in the regulatory rules, which incorporates these factors and other variables such as maturity and correlation. 

For credit risk, with the FSA's approval, HSBC has adopted the IRB advanced approach for the majority of its business with effect from 1 January 2008, with the remainder on either IRB foundation or standardised approaches. 

For consolidated group reporting, the FSA's rules permit the use of other regulators' standardised approaches where they are considered equivalent. The use of other regulators' IRB approaches is subject to the agreement of the FSA. A rollout plan is in place to extend coverage of the advanced approach over the next few years for both local and consolidated Group reporting, leaving a small residue of exposures on the standardised approach.

Counterparty credit risk in both the trading and non-trading books is the risk that the counterparty to a transaction may default before completing the satisfactory settlement of the transaction. Three approaches to calculating counterparty credit risk and determining exposure values are defined by Basel II: standardised, mark-to-market and internal model method. These exposure values are used to determine capital requirements under one of the credit risk approaches; standardised, IRB foundation and IRB advanced.

HSBC uses the mark-to-market and internal model method approaches for counterparty credit risk. Its longer-term aim is to migrate more positions from the mark-to-market to the internal model method approach.

Securitisation

Basel II specifies two methods for calculating credit risk requirements for securitisation positions in the non-trading book, being the standardised and IRB approaches. Both approaches rely on the mapping of rating agency credit ratings to risk weights, which range between 7 per cent and 1,250 per cent. Within the IRB approach, for securitisations where the commercial paper is rated, the internal assessment approach ('IAA') is used to calculate risk weights for unrated positions, such as liquidity facilities and programme wide enhancements.

HSBC uses the IRB approach for the majority of its non-trading book securitisation positions, while those in the trading book are treated like other market risk positions.

Market risk

Market risk is the risk that movements in market risk factors, including foreign exchange, commodity prices, interest rates, credit spread and equity prices will reduce HSBC's income or the value of its portfolios. Market risk is measured, with FSA permission, using Value at Risk ('VAR') models, or the standard rules prescribed by the FSA.

HSBC uses both VAR and standard rules approaches for market risk. Its longer-term aim is to migrate more positions from standard rules to VAR.

Operational risk

Basel II also introduces capital requirements for operational risk, again utilising three levels of sophistication. The capital required under the basic indicator approach is a simple percentage of gross revenues, whereas under the standardised approach it is one of three different percentages of gross revenues allocated to each of eight defined business lines. Both these approaches use an average of the last three financial years' revenues. Finally, the advanced measurement approach uses banks' own statistical analysis and modelling of operational risk data to determine capital requirements.

HSBC has adopted the standardised approach in determining its Group operational risk capital requirements.

Pillar 2

The second pillar of Basel II (Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process - 'SREP') involves both firms and regulators taking a view on whether a firm should hold additional capital against risks not covered in pillar 1. Part of the pillar 2 process is the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process ('ICAAP') which is the firm's self assessment of the levels of capital that it needs to hold. The pillar 2 process culminates in the FSA providing firms with Individual Capital Guidance ('ICG'). The ICG is set as a capital resources requirement higher than that required under pillar 1.

Pillar 3

Pillar 3 of Basel II is related to market discipline and aims to make firms more transparent by requiring them to publish specific, prescribed details of their risks, capital and risk management under the Basel II framework. HSBC published the first full set of pillar 3 disclosures for 31 December 2008, including quantitative tables, on 11 May 2009.

Capital structure

	At      30 June      2009		At      30 June     20081		At      31 December      20081
	US$m		US$m		US$m
Composition of regulatory capital
Tier 1 capital
Shareholders' equity2	118,355		126,785		93,591
Minority interests	6,943		7,226		6,638
Less:
Preference share premium	(1,405)		(1,405)		(1,405)
Preference share minority interests	(2,342)		(2,170)		(2,110)
Goodwill capitalised and intangible assets	(28,130)		(40,360)		(26,861)
Unrealised losses on available-for-sale debt securities
- consolidated entities3	2,020		1,830		5,191
- deconsolidated entities4	16,207		7,245		16,248
Other regulatory adjustments5,6	(6,568)		(4,083)		(8,360)
50% of excess of expected losses over impairment allowances	(3,375)		(3,490)		(2,660)
Core equity tier 1 capital	101,705		91,578		80,272
Preference share premium	1,405		1,405		1,405
Preference share minority interests	2,342		2,170		2,110
Innovative tier 1 securities and other regulatory adjustments6	11,901		12,698		11,549
Tier 1 capital	117,353		107,851		95,336
Tier 2 capital
Reserves arising from revaluation of property and unrealised gains on available-for-sale equities	2,250		2,768		1,726
Collective impairment allowances7	3,917		3,564		3,168
Perpetual subordinated debt	2,972		3,113		2,996
Term subordinated debt	44,027		44,036		41,204
Minority and other interests in tier 2 capital	300		300		300
Total qualifying tier 2 capital before deductions	53,466		53,781		49,394
Unconsolidated investments8	(10,568)		(11,183)		(9,613)
50% of excess of expected losses over impairment allowances	(3,375)		(3,490)		(2,660)
Other deductions	(1,690)		(9)		(997)
Total deductions other than from tier 1 capital	(15,633)		(14,682)		(13,270)
Total regulatory capital	155,186		146,950		131,460
	At      30 June      2009		At      30 June     20081		At      31 December      20081
	US$m		US$m		US$m
Risk-weighted assets
Credit and counterparty risk	962,055		1,071,482		956,596
Market risk	76,105		52,533		70,264
Operational risk	121,114		107,466		121,114
Total	1,159,274		1,231,481		1,147,974
	%		%		%
Capital ratios
Core equity tier 1 ratio	8.8		7.4		7.0
Tier 1 ratio	10.1		8.8		8.3
Total capital ratio	13.4		11.9		11.4
	At      30 June      2009		At      30 June     20081		At      31 December      20081
	US$m		US$m		US$m
Composition of regulatory capital
Tier 1 capital
Shareholders' equity2	118,355		126,785		93,591
Minority interests	6,943		7,226		6,638
Less:
Preference share premium	(1,405)		(1,405)		(1,405)
Preference share minority interests	(2,342)		(2,170)		(2,110)
Goodwill capitalised and intangible assets	(28,130)		(40,360)		(26,861)
Unrealised losses on available-for-sale debt securities
- consolidated entities3	2,020		1,830		5,191
- deconsolidated entities4	16,207		7,245		16,248
Other regulatory adjustments5,6	(6,568)		(4,083)		(8,360)
50% of excess of expected losses over impairment allowances	(3,375)		(3,490)		(2,660)
Core equity tier 1 capital	101,705		91,578		80,272
Preference share premium	1,405		1,405		1,405
Preference share minority interests	2,342		2,170		2,110
Innovative tier 1 securities and other regulatory adjustments6	11,901		12,698		11,549
Tier 1 capital	117,353		107,851		95,336
Tier 2 capital
Reserves arising from revaluation of property and unrealised gains on available-for-sale equities	2,250		2,768		1,726
Collective impairment allowances7	3,917		3,564		3,168
Perpetual subordinated debt	2,972		3,113		2,996
Term subordinated debt	44,027		44,036		41,204
Minority and other interests in tier 2 capital	300		300		300
Total qualifying tier 2 capital before deductions	53,466		53,781		49,394
Unconsolidated investments8	(10,568)		(11,183)		(9,613)
50% of excess of expected losses over impairment allowances	(3,375)		(3,490)		(2,660)
Other deductions	(1,690)		(9)		(997)
Total deductions other than from tier 1 capital	(15,633)		(14,682)		(13,270)
Total regulatory capital	155,186		146,950		131,460
	At      30 June      2009		At      30 June     20081		At      31 December      20081
	US$m		US$m		US$m
Risk-weighted assets
Credit and counterparty risk	962,055		1,071,482		956,596
Market risk	76,105		52,533		70,264
Operational risk	121,114		107,466		121,114
Total	1,159,274		1,231,481		1,147,974
	%		%		%
Capital ratios
Core equity tier 1 ratio	8.8		7.4		7.0
Tier 1 ratio	10.1		8.8		8.3
Total capital ratio	13.4		11.9		11.4

1    The FSA published a definition of core equity tier 1 capital in May 2009. Comparatives have been restated accordingly.

2    Includes externally verified profits for the half-year to 30 June 2009.

3    Under FSA rules, unrealised gains/losses on debt securities net of deferred tax must be excluded from capital resources.

4    Relates to entities (mainly SPEs) that are not consolidated for regulatory purposes.

5    Includes removal of the fair value gains and losses, net of deferred tax, arising from the credit spreads on debt issued by HSBC Holdings and its subsidiaries and designated at fair value.

6    Includes a tax credit adjustment in respect of the excess of expected losses over impairment allowances.

7    Under Basel II, only collective impairment allowances on loan portfolios on the standardised approach are included in tier 2 capital.

8    Mainly comprise investments in insurance entities.

Source and application of tier 1 capital 

	Half-year to
	30 June     2009		30 June     2008		31 December    2008
	US$m		US$m		US$m
Movement in tier 1 capital
Opening tier 1 capital	95,336		104,967		107,851
Changes to tier 1 capital arising from transition to pro forma Basel II basis			(3,282)
Opening pro forma tier 1 capital under Basel II rules			101,685
Consolidated profit/(loss) attributable to shareholders of the parent company	3,347		7,722		(1,994)
Dividends	(2,728)		(6,823)		(4,478)
Add back: shares issued in lieu of dividends	814		2,488		1,105
Decrease/(increase) in goodwill and intangible assets deducted	(1,269)		(1,505)		13,499
Removal of own credit spread	1,384		(625)		(3,985)
Ordinary shares issued
Rights issue (net of expenses)1	18,179		-		-
Other	3		52		418
Innovative tier 1 securities issued	-		2,134		(1)
Other (including exchange differences)	2,287		2,723		(17,079)
Closing tier 1 capital	117,353		107,851		95,336
Movement in risk-weighted assets
Opening risk-weighted assets	1,147,974		1,123,782		1,231,481
Changes to risk-weighted assets arising from transition to pro forma  Basel II basis			40,867
Opening Basel II pro forma risk-weighted assets			1,164,649
Movements	11,300		66,832		(83,507)
Closing risk-weighted assets	1,159,274		1,231,481		1,147,974

1    Rights issue excludes a loss of US$344 million on a forward foreign exchange contract associated with hedging the proceeds of the rights issue which is recognised in net trading income.

Movement in tier 1 capital

HSBC complied with the FSA's capital adequacy requirements throughout 2008 and the first half of 2009. The rights issue increased tier 1 capital by US$17.8 billion. Profits attributable to shareholders of the parent company of US$3.3 billion include losses of US$1.4 billion from own credit spread, net of deferred tax, which do not impact regulatory capital. The resulting contribution to tier 1 capital was therefore US$4.7 billion, less dividends to shareholders, partly offset by shares issued in lieu of dividends, of US$1.9 billion. The weakening US dollar caused foreign currency translation differences to increase tier 1 capital by US$3.7 billion.

Movement in risk-weighted assets

Total risk-weighted assets ('RWA's) increased by US$11.3 billion, or 1 per cent, in the first half of 2009. Foreign currency translation effects are estimated to have increased RWAs by US$30 billion, mainly as a result of the weakening of the US dollar, particularly against sterling, resulting in an estimated underlying decrease of US$18.7 billion in RWAs. Movements in credit risk, counterparty risk and market risk RWAs, reflected the effect of active exposure management, partly offset by procyclical effects. Counterparty risk RWAs were also reduced by the tightening of credit spreads and reduced market volatility.

Risk-weighted assets by principal subsidiary

In order to give an indication of how HSBC's capital is deployed, the table below analyses the disposition of risk-weighted assets by principal subsidiary. The risk-weighted assets are calculated using FSA rules and exclude intra-HSBC items. 

Risk-weighted assets by principal subsidiary

	At     30 June     2009		At     30 June      2008		At      31 December    2008
	US$m		US$m		US$m
Risk-weighted assets
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation	264,546		263,127		247,626
Hang Seng Bank	49,640		48,199		44,211
HSBC Bank Malaysia1	8,810		-		-
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and other subsidiaries	206,096		214,928		203,415
HSBC Bank	347,629		441,186		379,695
HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse)	19,854		25,501		20,422
HSBC France	61,200		80,571		65,557
HSBC Bank and other subsidiaries	266,575		335,114		293,716
HSBC North America	392,043		374,017		373,955
HSBC Finance	190,483		187,762		187,660
HSBC Bank Canada	33,532		34,950		35,336
HSBC Bank USA and other subsidiaries	168,028		151,305		150,959
HSBC Mexico	21,209		22,615		21,037
HSBC Bank Middle East	33,414		34,681		35,217
HSBC Bank Malaysia1	-		11,745		11,182
HSBC Brazil	32,655		35,301		30,851
HSBC Bank Panama	8,265		10,178		9,498
Bank of Bermuda	4,735		4,230		4,759
Other	54,778		34,401		34,154
	1,159,274		1,231,481		1,147,974

1    HSBC Bank Malaysia was transferred within the Group to the ownership of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited with effect from 2 January 2009.

 

END

 

 

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