HSBC says has not joined talks for US mortgage fund

HONG KONG, Oct 15 (Reuters) HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said on Monday that it has not participated in talks with big U.S.

banks forming an US billion fund to buy ailing mortgage securities and other assets.

''At this point in time, it's not something that we discussed with the parties,'' Sandy Flockhart, head of global commercial banking, said during a media briefing in Hong Kong.

Major banks including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase&Co and Bank of America are in negotiations to form the fund as part of a bid to prevent the credit crunch from further hurting the global economy, sources familiar with the situation have said.

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