HSBC Bank Bermuda Ltd made net income of $152 million, the bank revealed today.Although that was down 38 percent from 2010, the underlying performance, which strips out the impact of parts of the business being sold off, showed a three percent improvement on the previous year.Body: CEO Philip Butterfield described 2011 as a “generally resilient” year for the bank.Underlying operating income rose to $423 million, up six percent on 2010, while underlying operating expenses fell four percent to $231 million.HSBC Bermuda’s loan book grew by 11 percent to $3.6 billion, while customer accounts rocketed 33 percent to $3.2 billion. The bank’s total assets grew 26 percent year over year to $14.9 billion by the end of 2011.The bank’s results showed more signs of people struggling to meet loan repayments in the tough economic circumstances. Loan impairment charges more than trebled to $37.8 million, from $10.7 million in 2010.Total allowances as a percentage of loans and advances to customers rose significantly to 1.3 percent from 0.6 percent.“We do understand that many customers are facing challenging times and I would like to personally thank our customers for their continued support and confidence in the bank and our staff for their commitment and support to our customers during this difficult period in the economic cycle,” Mr Butterfield said.Chief financial officer Michael Schrum said: “The bank has maintained a strong and significantly growing balance sheet with a focus on building a high quality, liquid investment portfolio, well-secured mortgages and diversified loan portfolio.“Loan impairment charges have increased and we are seeing weakening local loan performance, which still remains within cyclical tolerances. The Bank remains well positioned for future growth as we continue our commitment to work with customers during these difficult economic conditions.”Deputy CEO Richard Moseley said: “We have made good progress in wealth management, having distributed $75 million of structured products to our individual clients who are looking for principal secured opportunities.“We have also assisted our Bermuda insurance customers with management of their non-US dollar catastrophe claims by providing value added foreign exchange advice and foreign currency accounts.“We continue to segment our approach across the businesses, and have seen significant revenue growth in corporate banking relationships as we provide a greater range of banking services through focused relationship management. During this difficult time, we are working ever more closely with our customers to help them navigate the changing market landscape and secure lasting partnerships.”