HSBC Says Potential $2.5 Billion Cost of U.K. Rules ‘Too High’
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HSBC Holdings Plc, Britain’s biggest bank, described the estimated $2.5 billion joint cost of the U.K. bank levy and the Independent Commission on Banking’s proposals as “too high.”
If the commission’s proposals are implemented as they stand, HSBC may need to sell about $55 billion of loss-absorbing debt which “we do not need” at an annual cost of about $2.1 billion, Finance Director Iain Mackay said on a call with journalists today. Added to that, the lender estimates that the British bank levy will cost about $400 million a year for its overseas operations.