Shares of HSBC ( LSE: HSBA ) (NYSE: HSBC.US) fell as much as 6% in early trading this morning, after the company released disappointing annual results. The FTSE 100 banking giant reported a 17% dive in profit before tax in 2014 to $18.7bn. Fines, settlements and UK customer redress all took their toll in what chief executive Stuart Gulliver called "a challenging year". While the company said that on an underlying basis profit was broadly unchanged from 2013, and reported lower impairment charges and a small uptick in its common equity tier 1 capital ratio, the results were disappointing overall and below market expectations.