HSBC puts another £290m aside for PPI claims
HSBC is hoarding more of its excess liquidity in Europe at central banks as it forecasts more ‘headwinds’ from eurozone uncertainty and regulatory upheaval in developed markets.
It now has £95bn ($153bn) stashed at central banks, up $23bn since December and up by $85bn since June.
Other banks, including Santander and BNP Paribas are also parking excess cash with central banks. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said he did not expect the eurozone to break up but it was impossible to predict if Greece would leave.
SBC has $4.4bn of exposure to Greek, Irish, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish sovereign and agency debt, down from $4.7bn at the end of 2011.