The Mexican unit of HSBC Holdings Plc said on Wednesday its license to operate is not in danger as a result of a UK financial bailout, as had been reported by a local newspaper. At isssue is the fact that HSBC did not accept bailout money from the UK or US governments. But citigroup did, and Citi is larger than HSBC, operating in over 100 countries compared to less than 90 for HSBC. The Mexican government has two choices as I see it – change the rules or ignore them. Citigroup has received billions of dollars in capital from the U.S. government in recent months to keep it afloat as it faces billions of dollars in potential losses. That technically violates Mexican rules against foreign government ownership in its Banamex unit, Mexico’s No. 2 bank, experts say.

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