This is not borrowing in the traditional sense where a company would borrow to buy PP&E and put up a plant.
The debt you are referring to is essentially financing the margin trading/loan against securities business of the Cap Markets/WM business which you can see appears on the asset side of the balance sheet.
Most of the debt is market-linked - so you are essentially earning a spread by lending out at slightly higher than you are borrowing. And it is collateralized.
It is a source of income, but not the primary business - it serves to complement the core Cap Markets/WM business.
Subscribe To Our Free Newsletter |