STREET, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 03: The HSBC logo is displayed outside a branch of HSBC on March 3 2008 in Street, United Kingdom. HSBC, the UK's largest bank, has said it has made a 8.7bn GBP loss, after the decline in the US housing market hit the value of its loans. The bank's losses are said to be the biggest write-down of the UK's big five because it has a lot of business and operations in the USA, however its annual profits still rose 10 percent to 12.2bn GBP, up from the year before.  (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)