"The protracted disputes over the major shareholder of the bank have exerted significant effects on the reputation and the brand value of KEB," the bank said in a statement.

The statement signed by about 680 KEB workers, including executive officers, came as the financial watchdog said it will continue to delay giving its approval for a US$6.3 billion takeover of KEB by HSBC until all legal uncertainty clears up.

In late June, a Seoul appeals court cleared Lone Star of stock price manipulation in connection with its takeover of KEB's credit card unit in 2003. Market watchers said a delay of regulatory approval may lead HSBC to walk away from the deal. HSBC has agreed to extend a deadline to buy KEB by three months until the end of July.

(Yonhap)

Joining the facility with Masraf Al Rayan, QNB, BNP Paribas, Calyon and HSBC were the following: Senior Mandated Lead ArrangerCommercial Bank of QatarMandated Lead ArrangerNational Bank of Abu DhabiRoyal Bank of ScotlandArrangerSMBCCo-ArrangerDeutsche BankGulf International BankMashreqbankSenior Lead ManagerBoubyan BankQatar Islamic International BankArab African Int BankBanque BiaAhli Bank QSCQatari Diar was established in December 2004 to act as the Real Estate Investment arm of Qatari Investment Authority (QIA). Fully owned by Qatar Investment Authority which, in turn, is 100% owned by the state of Qatar, Qatari Diar engages in high profile real estate activities through acquiring properties in prime locations within the region and beyond with a particular emphasis on Europe to build top quality residential and commercial buildings. Qatari Diar is viewed as the region's most influential and innovative real estate investment company.

Qatari Diar is a leading real estate company in Qatar with projects such as Lusail and the Doha Convention Centre as well as regionally with projects in Morocco, Oman, Egypt and Syria and beyond with projects in the Seychelles and the United Kingdom.(C) 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

This mandate is inline with the growing trend towards outsourcing back office processing by mutual funds to specialised providers like HSBC, it added.

"The Indian market has a unique and complex set of requirements in fund accounting. The successful implementation of this initiative demonstrates our ability to invest in customisation of global solutions for the Indian market," HSBC Asia Pacific Head of Institutional Fund Services, Jayant Rikhe said.

HSBC Institutional Fund Services, which is a part of HSBC Securities Services, has operations in 27 countries and territories in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Fitch said the ratings on the HSBC unit reflect its solid core operations, excellent profitability, strong balance sheet and track record of sound management.

The unit recorded a 4.6 bln hkd one-off tax-exempt gain on its investments in Bank of Communications and Industrial Bank Co following their listings in Shanghai in the first half of last year, Ftich noted.

Excluding the one-off gains, the HSBC unit maintained its consistently strong core profitability in 2007, as operating return on average assets (ROAA) increased to 1.93 pct from 1.61 pct in 2006, it said.

It attributed the improvement in ROAA to higher fee income from stockbroking and wealth management, higher trading income and improved operating efficiency.

Hong Kong remains its largest profit source, but given the territory's relative maturity, the share of profit from the rest of Asia will increase over time, particularly from China and India, Fitch said.

Its substantial share of the Hong Kong banking market provides it with a stable and low-cost funding base, it noted.

jun.concepcion@xfn.com

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