"Clearly, HSBC is in investment phase in its corporate and investment bankingbusiness, " says Simon Price, a London-based analyst at JPMorgan Chase (nyse: JPM - news - people ).
Panmure Gordon analyst Sandy Chen also points out that, as prudent as HSBC has been with its investment bankingbusiness, it has made some opportunistic acquisitions of distressed assets in the past, most notably in the case of Household International in the United States.