News

HSBC Bank Canada HSB.PR.C-T cited lower interest margins Wednesday as a primary reason for a 15.8-per-cent decrease in third-quarter earnings.

Profit attributable to common shares was of $101-million or 20 cents a basic share in the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $120-million or 23 cents in the comparable 2008 quarter.

Revenue was $558-million, down from $592-million.

Compared with the second quarter, earnings were down $13-million or 11.4 per cent.

HSBC president and chief executive officer Lindsay Gordon said in a statement that overall results were down compared with the same quarter in 2008 “primarily due to a reduction in net interest margin” and in the second quarter of 2009 primarily as a result of a “write down of a portion of our non-bank asset backed commercial paper portfolio, both caused by market factors.

“Thanks to higher revenues from core banking and capital market activities, continued tight cost control and a fall in quarterly credit losses, HSBC Bank Canada has delivered improved underlying quarterly results through the year to date,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Lindsay said that although the economic outlook in Canada remains uncertain there are positive signs that the recession may be nearing an end.

“We will continue to leverage the HSBC Group's global capabilities to support our core customer relationships while managing costs and risks closely,” he said.

HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings PLC, has more than 260 offices, including over 140 bank branches across the country.

The HSBC Group is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations, with some 8,500 offices in 86 countries and territories and assets of $2.4-trillion (U.S.).