HSBC share run stumbles on writedowns, tough outlook

... the worse than expected profits took their toll on the bank's bonus pool, which it cut by 12 percent to $3 billion, and sets the stage for results this week from Lloyds, Barclays, RBS and Standard Chartered.

... A $3.2 billion impairment in its private banking business led HSBC to report a $3.4 billion fourth-quarter loss, against analysts' expectations for a profit, as the accounting valuation of the unit caught up with years of declining performance. HSBC effectively built out its Swiss private bank from its $10 billion purchase of Republic National Bank of New York and Safra Republic Holdings in 1999... But major compliance failures at those operations ate into the bank's bottom line and hurt its reputation, leading to a radical restructuring which mean the private bank is now viable as a slimmed-down operation providing advice to wealthy clients referred from the lender's other business lines.