HSBC Third-Quarter Pretax Profit Rises

HSBC Holdings(HBC Quote) said pretax profit in the third quarter rose despite recording $4.3 billion in U.S. loan impairments.

Europe's biggest bank said Monday the quarter benefited from growth in Asia and said its retail businesses in Europe remained "robust."

The bank said its U.S. business declined markedly as a result of rising loan impairment charges in personal financial services and from further writedowns within its global banking and markets divisions.

"Our U.S. results in HSBC Finance were broadly in line with our expectations but current trends point to further deterioration in the near to medium term," the bank said in a statement Monday. "Recovery depends on the success of further economic stimulation which is likely to take some time to take effect but we were early in positioning ourselves for this downturn."

HSBC said its Tier 1 capital ratio was 8.9% at Sept. 30, towards the top of its current target range.