HSBC Holdings, the largest banking group in Europe and Hong Kong by assets, reported a 25 per cent decline in third-quarter profits on Tuesday as a result of lower interest rates and provisions made for commercial property and lawsuits related to the Bernard Madoff fraud case. Net profit for the July to September quarter stood at US$4.58 billion, or 28 US cents per share, compared with US$6.13 billion a year earlier, the bank said. The result misses the US$5.38 billion consensus of 18 analysts...