HSBC sets an example for US banks

HSBC (HBC) will take billions of dollars of losses but it will probably raise enough money to stay viable. That may be a template for what healthier US banks like JP Morgan Chase (JPM) should do.

According to the Times of London, the bank will take a £7 billion goodwill write-off in addition to a £17 billion provision against rising bad loans. But, "The provisions will be announced tomorrow alongside a heavily discounted £12 billion rights issue -- the biggest ever held in Britain -- and a dividend cut."