If HSBC plans to pull profits from Asia to offset losses in the UK and US they need to think again. Bank of East Asia Ltd., the Hong Kong lender that suffered a run on deposits in September, had its first loss in at least four decades after writing down the value of credit-market investments.
Rivals HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc last year announced job cuts in the city and across the Asia-Pacific region. Banks and brokerages worldwide have shed more than 260,000 positions as the credit crisis that began in 2007 triggered a global recession.
HSBC and Standard Chartered, expanded in China in the past two years as the nation’s booming economy drove demand for loans and investment products. Growing profits in China may be more difficult this year. China’s expansion may slow to 6.7 percent this year from 13 percent in 2007 as exports collapse, according to the International Monetary Fund.
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