U.K.-incorporated HSBC Bank PLC is a wholly owned, direct subsidiary of HSBC Holdings PLC (AA-/Positive/A-1+), the ultimate holding company of the HSBC group. It has a solid franchise in the U.K. and additionally owns the majority of the group's continental European businesses and international private banking activities. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services regards it as a core subsidiary, evidenced by its 32% contribution to consolidated group earnings in 2006, and this relationship benefits the long-term counterparty credit rating on the bank by one notch above its stand-alone rating. Organic franchise growth has been the bank's strategic priority since 2003 and it has made gradual progress against this objective, but this is not yet fully reflected in underlying profitability. In the
