HSBC considers hiking capital of its German unit: exec

HSBC is considering hiking the capital of its German unit as it seeks to expand in Europe's largest economy, according to the head of HSBC Trinkaus , which is 81-percent owned by the British bank.

"If we wants to continue to grow we needs more capital," Carola von Schmettow said in remarks set for release on Thursday. "I am not authorised to talk about volume, timing and so on - but I am very confident."

HSBC Trinkaus has grown its loans business with German corporates, including the country's prized medium-sized companies, by 30 percent since 2013, Schmettow said.

It is now targeting handing out fewer plain-vanilla loans and selling more profitable, complex products, she added.

(Reporting by Andreas Kr��ner; Writing by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)