HSBC Post 26% Earnings Increase: How Did It Stack Up?

As we reported earlier HSBC Holdings plc (LON:HSBA) reported earnings of $6.8 billion this morning compared with last year's $5.4 billion. The firm's revenue was slightly down for the year to a total of $16.4 billion. The company gave credit to it's financial and commercial banking sectors for the improved profit but the bank's investment branch performed well also. That part of the business saw an increase of $174 million year on year in profit bringing it to $3.1 billion. How did the bank's numbers compare to results from the other big European...