HSBC, Citigroup, UBS drive for capital

Three of the world's biggest banks on Thursday embarked on fresh steps to boost their balance sheets, as governments moved to crack down on excesses that may have fueled the global credit crisis.
The moves by HSBC Holdings Plc, Citigroup Inc and UBS AG and are the latest corporate efforts to repair or regain their financial health, allowing them to lend more as central banks move aggressively to pump liquidity into the financial system.
HSBC won approval for a record 12.9 billion pound ($18.7 billion) rights issue to withstand market turmoil. "We are determined HSBC should maintain its signature financial strength," Chairman Stephen Green said before shareholders overwhelmingly approved the issue.
Citigroup began an offer to swap billions of dollars of preferred shares into common stock, an exchange that could leave the U.S. government with a 36 percent ownership stake.
The bank also said it might conduct a reverse stock split, bolstering its share price while reducing shares outstanding. Such a move could boost demand by boosting the share price high enough to allow institutional investors to buy more. Citigroup stock fell 15.6 percent to $2.60.
Meanwhile, UBS said it would buy back up to 1 billion euros ($1.37 billion) of four bond issues, which are all trading at a significant discount to face value, to bolster its Tier-1 capital ratio, a measure of its ability to handle losses.
The Swiss bank, among the hardest hit by losses tied to subprime mortgages, also said it will seek shareholder approval to raise an extra 10 percent of equity capital if needed.