HSBC Bank Australia has been able to draw on the strong liquidity position of its parent, HSBC Holdings, to pursue growth in its retail banking operation.The bank increased its retail bank mortgage portfolio by 10 per cent in 2011, its credit card lending by 10 per cent and its customer account balances by 17 per cent.Retail banking and wealth management were the drivers of the bank's earnings growth last year. HSBC Australia yesterday reported a pre-tax profit of A$298 million for the 12 months to December - six per cent up on the 2010 result.Retail banking and wealth management contributed $85 million of pre-tax profit - up 32 per cent on 2010. Commercial banking's pre-tax profit, of $103 million, was down one per cent on the previous year.Global banking and markets' pre-tax profit, of $105 million, was unchanged from the previous year.HSBC Bank Australia chief executive Paulo Maia said retail bank funding came from local deposits, some wholesale funding and some funding from the group. The group has a loan-to-deposit ratio of 75 per cent.Maia said: "We have the deposits to fund loan growth."The bank's Premier account customer base increased by 22 per cent last year and is now close to 90,000.Maia said the growth came from an expansion in the bank's distribution footprint. HSBC added two new branches to its network last year, taking the total to 29. It will open a branch in Subiaco, Perth this year.Another factor has been the growing demand for banking products, such as Premier, that offer international transaction, credit and funds' management facilities.Maia said that although the performance in commercial banking was slightly weaker, the bank increased share in trade finance (where it claims a 15 per cent share), as well as picking up share in cash management and business lending.In the global banking and markets' division, the bank's credit and rates' trading operations were hit by the latest round of the financial crisis. On the corporate client side, the bank increased lending by 25 per cent last year.