Trading in HSBC Holdings was suspended for Monday’s entire session on Hong Kong markets pending what the bank’s corporate executives is calling “the announcement of corporate action,” in lieu of fourth quarter results.

Update (Monday, March 2nd, 11:00): with the Dow Jones down almost 250 points in intra-day trading, HSBC Holdings’ quarterly losses marked a 20% collapse in its stock price so far today. Financials are down 5%, while Money Center Banks are down 10% across the board.

The company is expected to announce they will be trimming their U.S. consumer lending facilities, closing branches and cutting dividends — in line with the whole set of poor financial industry news as of late, and nothing which investors have not factored in to the share price already — leaving investors worried as to why the company would cease trading prior to the announcement.

Asian markets are reporting 4 to 5 per cent losses in this trading session, waiting for the bank to announce its fourth quarter results — analysts expect a steep decline in revenue, ending at $10 to $12 billion in revenue, an amount which does not shock most involved in financial trading during the current economic windstorm.

The company is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow at 8am Eastern Standard Time, which should explain the stock freeze; likely, some level of unexpected bad news.

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