Core subsidiary of the HSBC group. Solid capital ratios. Reasonable geographic diversification. Overweight position in corporate banking and capital markets activities, which have inherent cyclicality and complexity. Earnings fall short of the parent's groupwide targets. S&P Global Ratings' stable outlook on HSBC Bank PLC (HBEU) mirrors that on its ultimate parent HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC Group) and reflects our expectation that HSBC Group will maintain a robust balance sheet and performance level over our two-year horizon. We could lower the ratings on HBEU if we lowered the ratings on its parent, or if our view of its group status weakens. A one-notch lowering of our 'AA' long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.K. would not automatically affect the ratings on
