HSBC Bank PLC

The stable outlook on HSBC Bank mirrors that on ultimate parent HSBC Holdings PLC. It indicates that we expect the HSBC group to maintain a robust credit profile over our two-year outlook horizon despite pressures from elevated inflation and slowing economic growth. The stable outlook also reflects our expectation that HSBC Bank will remain a core subsidiary. We could consider raising the ratings on HSBC Holdings and HSBC Bank if macroeconomic and geopolitical risks ease and the HSBC group demonstrates earnings and business stability consistent with the very highest rated global banks, while maintaining robust balance-sheet metrics. We could lower our ratings on HSBC Holdings if the group failed to sustain strong earnings or if macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges triggered

...We view HSBC Bank as a core subsidiary of the HSBC group. HSBC Bank is an important contributor to HSBC group's financials and wholesale banking franchise. Its Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital base as of June 2023 represented 20% of the group's capital base and contributed 14% of the group's revenues, excluding notable items, in the first half of 2023. We align our long-term issuer credit rating on HSBC Bank with the 'a+' group credit profile on the HSBC group, and we do not assign a stand-alone credit profile to the bank. Through internal downstreaming, we think that HSBC Bank's senior creditors would benefit from the parent's additional loss-absorbing capacity buffer. HSBC Bank is a U.K. non-ring-fenced bank. As a U.K. non-ring-fenced bank (NRFB), HSBC Bank focuses on wholesale banking services for corporate and institutional clients (see chart 1). HSBC Bank is pivotal to the group's franchise and strategy in these businesses and it generates substantial inbound and outbound revenue...

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