As Michael Geoghegan, HSBC Chief Executive, said in an interview with the Financial Times, he is wary about "growing too fast" as he fears a second economic downturn could force the bank to make write-downs.

Geoghegan has a firm belief economic recovery would look like W-shaped rather than V-shaped.

 So, he’s sure "we have to be very careful we don't grow the balance sheet so far before the recovery has come, only to write it back into the impairment line later on. I'm cautious about growing too fast."

 The other HSBC senior executive expects HSBC to make medium-sized acquisitions a priority, with troubled banks' subsidiaries an area of interest, highlighting bits of Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.