LONDON (Bloomberg) ? HSBC Holdings Plc?s credit rating outlook was lifted to ?positive? from ?stable? by Standard & Poor?s because of the bank?s diverse business mix.

The rating agency affirmed the A+ rating on HSBC?s long-term debt and the A-1 rating on its short-term borrowings, S&P said on Wednesday. It also raised the outlook on some of the bank?s units.

HSBC, Europe?s biggest bank by market value, said earlier this month that third-quarter pretax profit rose in all of its businesses, including commercial banking and securities trading. Growth in Asia and the Middle East helped fuel the increase.

?The outlook revisions reflect the increasingly strongly diversified earnings profile and global reach of the well-managed HSBC group,? wrote Michelle Brennan, an S&P credit analyst.

The ratings outlook on HSBC Finance Corp., the bank?s US consumer lending division, remained stable. The unit will be key to determining HSBC?s ratings going forward, S&P said.

?The ratings could be raised within the next 12-18 months if HSBC demonstrates greater certainty regarding the quality and sustainability of HSBC Finance?s earnings,? S&P said.

The outlook could return to stable if HSBC Finance shows a decline in earnings quality or an increase in risk, the rating company said.

HSBC was fined ?100,000 ($177,000) by the UK markets regulator yesterday for failing to ensure its transaction reports were accurate.

The Financial Services Authority found inaccuracies in trading information it had asked HSBC Stockbroker Services to provide in July, the watchdog said today in an e-mailed statement. The FSA discussed it with the brokerage and found transaction reports had inaccurately represented client purchases as sales and vice versa.

?The FSA relies on firms to provide accurate transaction reports to enable it to monitor the market effectively,? the watchdog said in the statement. ?Failing to do so could affect the FSA?s ability to maintain confidence in the financial markets and reduce financial crime.?

HSBC, which has taken steps to improve its systems and controls, said yesterday it ?regrets? the breach.

?Although these failures in no way caused any financial loss or inconvenience to HSBC customers, the bank takes such matters extremely seriously and has taken action to ensure that the irregularities are not repeated,? London-based HSBC said.