LONDON (Bloomberg) - HSBC Holdings plc., owners of the Bank of Bermuda, will focus on expansion without acquisitions as the company seeks to control costs, according to insurance head Clive Bannister.

"The emphasis for 2009 is on organic growth," said Mr. Bannister in an interview in London yesterday. The bancassurance model of selling products through its bank distribution channels and forming alliances with selected insurance companies "is working well. It is low cost", he added.

Insurance represented 16 percent of HSBC's pretex profit in the first half and the bank seeks a contribution of about 20 percent in future. The unit reduced investments in equities by $3.3 billion in the first half to protect against declining stock markets, it said in August. The insurance division had faced "challenging times" relating to investment income in Asia in the third quarter, chief executive officer Michael Geoghegan told analysts.