 HSBC Holdings PLC LSE:HSBAs sale of its Canadian arm to the Royal Bank of Canada TSX:RY went better than expected according to equity research director Andrew Coombs at Citigroup. The FTSE 100-listed bank disposed of over 130 branches and 780,000 customers for CA13.5bn US10.1bn, 8.3bn, ahead of market expectations of CA9bn and well ahead of Citis expected valuation of the business based on peer group multiples. 