On Friday night, Stephen Green will join tens of thousands of spectators at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. For HSBC’s chairman, the event will offer a spectacular reminder not just of the bank’s roots in China – where it was founded in 1865 – but also the extent to which its fortunes are linked to future growth in Asia.

However, that growth may be beginning to slow. For much of the past year, HSBC’s exposure to emerging markets has been a source of comfort for investors as the bank struggled with the meltdown in the US subprime mortgage market, and the ensuing capital markets storm.