HSBC Holdings Plc is “highly unlikely” to buy an investment bank, its Asia CEO said today, dousing speculation the bank may invest in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. “Our approach, as we’ve said, is it’s highly unlikely that we will take a major interest in an investment bank,” Sandy Flockhart, CEO of HSBC’s Asia-Pacific region, told Bloomberg Television when asked about speculation that London-based HSBC may invest in Lehman. He declined to comment on specific companies.
HSBC, Europe’s largest bank by market value, is focusing on expanding in emerging markets after posting about $27 billion of writedowns in the past year, mainly linked to sub-prime mortgage losses at its US Household International unit.
Even so, the bank has posted smaller markdowns than its competitors.
Merrill Lynch & Co, Citigroup Inc and UBS AG over the year-old credit crisis.
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co analyst Richard Bove identified HSBC as a potential buyer of the bank in a note to clients yesterday.
