HSBC's strength in emerging markets is also weighing on the company now that plummeting commodity prices are harming economies from Argentina to South Africa. This has filtered through to HSBC's balance sheet in the form of loan impairments, which more than doubled year-on-year to $1.1bn. All of these issues together will impinge on HSBC's growth in the years to come. But if high costs can be wrangled down and the bank can refocus on its Asian breadbasket, I see more hope for HSBC shares to live up to their book value than Barclays.