At a time when many banks are struggling with capital and funding pressures, HSBC has a different set of problems: how to earn a commercial return on its vast deposit base at a time of very low interest rates.

A 6% drop in underlying profit before tax in 2011 shows the UK bank hasn't cracked the formula yet. But there was enough in its full-year results released on Monday to suggest chief executive Stuart Gulliver might still hit his target of a 12% to 15% return on equity by the end of 2013.