World's Strongest Banks: HSBC

Call it a sign of strength. On Oct. 8, British banking giant HSBC declined to use the British government's government bank bailout plan, which includes $87 billion of taxpayers' money to buy major stakes in the banks. Despite pulling out of a plan to take a 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank because of the financial turmoil last month, in late September, HSBC (Europe's biggest bank) completed a deal to take a 93% stake in L&FS Investsmart, a leading retail brokerage in India, for about $300 million.