Even if it has written off all goodwill associated with the 2003 acquisition, HSBC is still far from being able to draw a line under Household. HSBC makes much of its “signature financial strength”. Indeed, it could absorb $30bn of losses and still retain a tier one capital ratio of 7.5 per cent. But that measure now carries little credibility. If it did, investors would have piled in to buy “well-capitalised” banks such as Citigroup. Investors are putting more focus on tangible common equity as an indicator of a bank's ability to survive without further capital and by this measure, HSBC is hardly the fortress of its own myth-making. Knight Vinke, the activist investor, estimates this ratio, now 2.8 per cent, could fall to below one per cent if these fair value adjustments materialise.
即使全额冲减了与2003年收购Household相关的商誉，汇丰仍远不能与这项业务划清界限。汇丰十分重视其“签名的财务实力”。确实，它可以消化300亿美元的亏损，同时保持7.5%的一级资本充足率。但这种措施如今不会带来可信度。如果会的话，投资者早就去追捧花旗集团(Citigroup)等“资本雄厚的”银行了。投资者现在更看重有形普通股权益，将之视为衡量银行在不进一步筹措资本情况下的生存能力的指标。按照这一指标，汇丰恐怕很难捍卫其自身创造的神话。股东维权人士奈特•温科(Knight Vinke)估计，如果汇丰进行了公允价值调整报表，其普通股权益比率可能会从现在的2.8%降至1%以下。