Insight - HSBC’s lions caught in US-China crosshairs. Can they roar again?

Stiff competition: Even as cost cuts go ahead, what’s unclear is if HSBC can score a big win as a wealth management player in China. — Bloomberg

HSBC Holdings Plc is a bank in limbo. Pandemic-related bad loans have messed up its cost-reduction plan. Coming in the crosshairs of the US-China conflict made investors nervous about the jewel in its crown: the Hong Kong franchise.

Lower-for-longer interest rates aren’t good news for its margins. Add a UK regulatory ban on paying dividends, and there were ample reasons this year for investors to drive the stock price down to a 25-year low.