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HSBC Holdings posted a 5 per cent rise in 2006 profits, just short of analysts' expectations, as Europe's biggest bank took a US$10.6 billion ($15.6 billion) hit for bad debts after problems in its US mortgage lending. The London-headquartered bank reported a record 2006 pretax profit of US$22.1 billion, up from US$21 billion in 2005 and below an average forecast of US$22.4 billion in a poll of analysts by Reuters Estimates.
The bank had warned a month ago problems had deepened in its lending to lower-quality US home borrowers.
