Finance

HSBC Facing Subprime Trouble; Impairment Charges to Jump 20 Percent 

Ahead of its 2006 earnings release, HSBC Holdings Plc said late Wednesday that 2006 loan impairment levels at Europe’s largest bank will exceed analyst expectations by more than 20 percent due to troubles in its U.S. mortgage business. Analysts had generally expected HSBC to report loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions of $8.8 billion; the bank cited rapidly-increasing delinquencies and foreclosures in its U.S. mortgage banking operations as the culprit behind increasing losses. HSBC acquired Household International Inc., primarily a subprime mortgage banking originator and servicer, in 2003 as part of a deal worth $15.5 billion.