HSBC and Barclays provided stark evidence yesterday that UK banks have polarised into successful commercial operators and struggling part-nationalised ones, as the country's two biggest reported robust results for the third quarter of the year.
Michael Geoghegan, HSBC's chief executive, said: “Two very different types of banks [are emerging] from this crisis – the winners and the losers.” He said HSBC's focus on developing markets, which he believed offered the “brightest” opportunities for growth, as well as the bank's strong capital base, financial strength and prudent management meant it would remain among the winners.
John Varley, Barclays' chief executive, stressed the group's “consistent profitability across the first three quarters of 2009, [showing] the resilience and diversification of our portfolio of businesses”.