HSBC says sees no need to "slim down"

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's largest bank HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) brushed off speculation it could face pressure to consider a break-up after U.S. giant Citigroup's move to sell $400 billion of assets, saying it saw "no need to slim down".

Citigroup's (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) move last week has revived talk the U.S. bank could eventually break up and that others could follow suit.

"Our results last year and the trading statement today show that having diverse flows of business is the right way to run a bank," Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan told reporters on a conference call.

"We feel comfortable and so do our regulators...that this is the right way to run the business."

After the group took a further $3.2 billion bad debt charge related to its U.S. business, Geoghegan said U.S. impairments had slowed but said it was still too early to call a the bottom of the market, with the U.S. housing market unlikely to show signs of improvement before 2009.

(Reporting by Steve Slater and Clara Ferreira-Marques)