HSBC head Michael Geoghegan plans to delay any rush to expand the bank because of concerns there will be a second economic downturn in the coming months, a report said today.
'Is this a V recovery or a W?' the HSBC chief executive officer said in an interview with the Financial Times.
'I think it's the latter. If I'm right, we have to be very careful we don't grow the balance sheet so far before the recovery has come only to write it back into the impairment line later on. I'm cautious about growing too fast,' he told the newspaper.
His comments come after HSBC recently highlighted its ambitions for expansion in Asia by announcing that Geoghegan would move from London to Hong Kong.
The lender is expanding its branches in China and has expressed interest in a public listing in Shanghai.
Mr Geoghegan was also bearish on the outlook for bank earnings. 'I'm not as convinced we're through the worst as others are. The reality is that profits will be quite reduced,' he said.
Meanwhile, HSBC said today that it will sell its New York headquarters for $330m as the bank seeks to raise money from property sales.
It will lease back the building after the sale to IDB Group, an Israeli holding company, the bank said in a statement.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, is looking to bolster its finances after suffering losses from the consequences of the US housing crisis. In August it said its first-half net profits slumped by 57% to $3.35 billion as bad debts ballooned to nearly $14 billion.
The bank is also said to be looking at selling and leasing back its Canary Wharf headquarters in London and office buildings in Paris.
