HSBC facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded |
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| Founder | Sir Thomas Sutherland |
| Headquarters | 8 Canada Square London, England, UK |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Revenue |  US$62.611 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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US$30.348 billion (2023) |
| US$24.559 billion (2023) |
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| Total assets | US$3.038 trillion (2023) |
| Total equity | US$192.610 billion (2023) |
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Number of employees
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221,000 (2024) |
| Subsidiaries |
Subsidiaries
Hang Seng Bank HSBC Bank Australia HSBC Bank Argentina HSBC Bank India HSBC Bank Hong Kong HSBC Trinkaus HSBC Bank Malaysia HSBC México HSBC Bank Middle East HSBC Sri Lanka HSBC Bank USA HSBC Finance HSBC UK Bank M&S Financial Services |
HSBC Holdings plc (Chinese: 滙豐; acronym from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business links to East Asia and a multinational footprint. It is the largest Europe-based bank by total assets, ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 trillion in assets under custody (AUC) and $4.9 trillion in assets under administration (AUA).
HSBC traces its origin to a hong trading house in British Hong Kong. The bank was established in 1865 in Hong Kong and opened branches in Shanghai in the same year. It was first formally incorporated in 1866. In 1991, the present parent legal entity, HSBC Holdings plc, was established in London and the historic Hong-Kong-based bank from whose initials the group took its name became that entity's fully-owned subsidiary. The next year (1992), HSBC took over Midland Bank and thus became one of the largest domestic banks in the United Kingdom.
HSBC has offices, branches and subsidiaries in 62 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America, serving around 39 million customers. As of 2023, it was ranked no. 20 in the world in the Forbes rankings of large companies ranked by sales, profits, assets, and market value. HSBC has a dual primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index and the FTSE 100 Index. It has secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Bermuda Stock Exchange.
HSBC has been implicated in a number of controversies and the bank has been repeatedly fined for money laundering (sometimes in relation to major criminal organizations such as the Sinaloa cartel) or setting up large scale tax avoidance schemes.
History
Foundation
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After the British established Hong Kong as a crown colony in the aftermath of the First Opium War, merchants from other parts of the British Empire, now in Hong Kong, felt the need for a bank to finance the growing trade, through Hong Kong and sometimes also through Shanghai, between China and India, the rest of the British Empire and Europe, of goods, produces and merchandises of all kinds.
The founder, Thomas Sutherland of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, wanted a bank operating on "sound Scottish banking principles". Still, the original location of the bank was considered crucial and the founders chose Wardley House in Hong Kong since the construction was based on some of the best feng shui in colonial Hong Kong.
After raising a capital stock of HK$5 million, the bank commenced operations on 3 March 1865. It opened a branch in Shanghai in April of that year and started issuing locally denominated banknotes in both the Crown Colony and Shanghai soon afterwards. The bank was incorporated in Hong Kong as The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation by the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Ordinance (Numbers 2 and 5 of 1866), and a branch in Japan was also established in Yokohama in 1866. Shares of the bank were one of 13 securities initially traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and were traded on that exchange until the Japanese closed the exchange in 1941.
Business development
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Sir Thomas Jackson became chief manager in 1876. During his twenty-six-year tenure, the bank became a leader in Asia. A period of expansion followed, with new buildings constructed in Bangkok (1921), Manila (1922) and Shanghai (1923), and a new head office building in Hong Kong in 1935. Bank note issuance displaced other forms of the era and of the region, such as silver taels, due to political and economic instability. HSBC gained significant influence as a result.
International expansion
Michael Turner became chief manager in 1953 and set about diversifying the business. His tenure came to an end in 1962 having established The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation of California 1955 and having acquired The British Bank of the Middle East and the Mercantile Bank (based in India) in Aug 1959. Turner was succeeded in 1962 by Jake Saunders. In 1964 the Chief Managership was superseded as the top executive role in the bank by an Executive Chairmanship.
During the Konfrontasi period in the 1960s, a group of Indonesian forces bombed the MacDonald House building in Singapore (at the time used by HSBC) just a few months after Singapore was granted its independence from Malaysia. Three people were killed, 33 injured, and the two Indonesian military officers responsible for the bombing were tried and executed.
The present building in Hong Kong was designed by Sir Norman Foster and was held as one of the most expensive and technologically advanced buildings in the world in 1986, costing HK$5.3 billion.
Creation of the HSBC Group
On 6 October 1989, it was registered as a regulated bank with the Banking Commissioner of the Government of Hong Kong.
HSBC Holdings plc, originally incorporated in England and Wales, was a non-trading, dormant shelf company when it completed its transformation on 25 March 1991 into the parent holding company to the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited now as a subsidiary, in preparation for its purchase of the UK-based Midland Bank and the impending transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China. HSBC Holdings' acquisition of Midland Bank was completed in 1992 and gave HSBC a substantial market presence in the United Kingdom. As part of the takeover conditions for the acquisition, HSBC Holdings plc was required to relocate its world headquarters from Hong Kong to London in 1993.
Major acquisitions in South America started with the purchase of the Banco Bamerindus of Brazil for $1 billion in March 1997 and the acquisition of Roberts SA de Inversiones of Argentina for $600 million in May 1997. In May 1999, HSBC expanded its presence in the United States with the purchase of Republic National Bank of New York for $10.3 billion.
2000 to 2010
Expansion into Continental Europe took place in April 2000 with the acquisition of Crédit Commercial de France, a large French bank, for £6.6 billion. In July 2001 HSBC bought Demirbank, an insolvent Turkish bank. In July 2002, Arthur Andersen announced that HSBC USA, Inc., through a new subsidiary, Wealth and Tax Advisory Services USA Inc. (WTAS), would purchase a portion of Andersen's tax practice. The new HSBC Private Client Services Group would serve the wealth and tax advisory needs of high-net-worth individuals. Then in August 2002 HSBC acquired Grupo Financiero Bital, SA de CV, Mexico's third largest retail bank for $1.1 billion.
In November 2002, HSBC expanded further in the United States. Under the chairmanship of John Bond, it spent £9 billion (US$15.5 billion) to acquire Household Finance Corporation (HFC), a US credit card issuer and subprime lender. In a 2003 cover story, The Banker noted "when banking historians look back, they may conclude that [it] was the deal of the first decade of the 21st century". Under the new name of HSBC Finance, the division was the second largest subprime lender in the United States.
The new headquarters of HSBC Holdings at 8 Canada Square, London officially opened in April 2003.
In July 2003, HSBC announced that it had agreed to acquire 82.19% of the Korean fund administrator, Asset Management Technology (AM TeK), for $12.47 million in cash; it was the largest fund administrator in South Korea, with $24 billion of assets under administration. In September 2003 HSBC bought Polski Kredyt Bank SA of Poland for $7.8 million. In June 2004 HSBC expanded into China buying 19.9% of the Bank of Communications of Shanghai. In the United Kingdom HSBC acquired Marks & Spencer Retail Financial Services Holdings Ltd for £763 million in December 2004. Acquisitions in 2005 included Metris Inc, a US credit card issuer for $1.6 billion in August and 70.1% of Dar es Salaam Investment Bank of Iraq in October. In April 2006, HSBC bought the 90 branches in Argentina of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro for $155 million. In December 2007 HSBC acquired the Chinese Bank in Taiwan. In May 2008, HSBC acquired IL&FS Investment, an Indian retail broking firm. On August 3rd, 2008, HSBC began its banking operations in Algeria with the opening of a branch in Algiers.
In 2005, Bloomberg Markets magazine accused HSBC of money laundering for state sponsors of terrorism. Then-CEO Stephen Green said that "This was a singular and wholly irresponsible attack on the bank's international compliance procedures", but subsequent investigation indicated that it was accurate and proved that the bank was involved in money laundering for the Sinaloa Cartel and throughout Mexico.
In July 2006, HSBC announced that it would acquire Westpac's sub-custody operations in Australia and New Zealand for $112.5 million, making HSBC the leading sub-custody and clearing player in Australia and New Zealand.
In 2007, HSBC wrote down its holdings of subprime-related mortgage securities by $10.5 billion, becoming the first major bank to report its losses due to the unfolding subprime mortgage crisis.
According to Bloomberg, "HSBC is one of world's strongest banks by some measures". When HM Treasury required all UK banks to increase their capital in October 2007, the group transferred £750 million to London within hours, and announced that it had just lent £4 billion to other UK banks.
In March 2009, HSBC announced that it would shut down the branch network of its HSBC Finance arm in the United States, leading to nearly 6,000 job losses and leaving only the credit card business to continue operating. Chairman Stephen Green stated, "HSBC has a reputation for telling it as it is. With the benefit of hindsight, this is an acquisition we wish we had not undertaken." According to analyst Colin Morton, "the takeover was an absolute disaster".
In March 2009, it announced that it had made US$9.3 billion of profit in 2008 and announced a £12.5 billion (US$17.7 billion; HK$138 billion) rights issue to enable it to buy other banks that were struggling to survive. However, uncertainty over the rights issue's implications for institutional investors caused volatility in the Hong Kong stock market: on 9 March 2009 HSBC's share price fell 24.14%, with 12 million shares sold in the last few seconds of trading.
2010 to 2013
On 25 April 2011, HSBC decided to shut down its retail banking business in Russia and reduce its private banking presence to a representative office.
On 11 May 2013, the new chief executive Stuart Gulliver announced that HSBC would refocus its business strategy and that a large-scale retrenchment of operations, particularly in respect of the retail sector, was planned. HSBC would no longer seek to be 'the world's local bank', as costs associated with this were spiraling and US$3.5 billion needed to be saved by 2013, with the aim of bringing overheads down from 55% of revenues to 48%. In 2010, then-chairman Stephen Green planned to depart HSBC to accept a government appointment in the Trade Ministry. Group Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan was expected to become the next chairman. However, while many current and former senior employees supported the tradition of promoting the chief executive to chairman, many shareholders instead pushed for an external candidate. HSBC's board of directors had reportedly been split over the succession planning and investors were alarmed that the row would damage the company.
On 23 September 2010, Geoghegan announced he would step down as chief executive of HSBC. He was succeeded as chief executive by Stuart Gulliver, while Green was succeeded as chairman by Douglas Flint; Flint was serving as HSBC's finance director (chief financial officer). August 2011: Further to CEO Stuart Gulliver's plan to cut $3.5 billion in costs over the next two years, HSBC announced that it will cut 25,000 jobs and exit from 20 countries by 2013 in addition to 5,000 job cuts announced earlier in the year. The consumer banking division of HSBC will focus on the UK, Hong Kong, high-growth markets such as Mexico, Singapore, Turkey, and Brazil, and smaller countries where it has a leading market share. According to Reuters, Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver told the media, "There will be further job cuts. There will be something like 25,000 roles eliminated between now and the end of 2013."
In August 2011 "to align our U.S. business with our global network and meet the local and international needs of domestic and overseas clients", HSBC agreed to sell 195 branches in New York and Connecticut to First Niagara Financial Group Inc, and divestures to KeyCorp, Community Bank, N.A. and Five Star Bank for around $1 billion, and announced the closure of 13 branches in Connecticut and New Jersey. The rest of HSBC's U.S. network will only be about half from a total 470 branches before divestments. On 9 August 2011, Capital One Financial Corp. agreed to acquire HSBC's U.S. credit card business for $2.6 billion, netting HSBC Holdings an estimated after-tax profit of $2.4 billion. In September it was announced that HSBC sought to sell its general insurance business for around $1 billion.
In 2012, HSBC was the subject of hearings of the U.S. Senate permanent subcommittee for investigations for severe deficiencies in its anti-money laundering practices (see Controversies). On 16 July the committee presented its findings. Among other things, it concluded that HSBC had been transferring $7 billion in banknotes from its Mexican to its US subsidiary, was disregarding terrorist financing links and was actively circumventing US safeguards to block transactions involving terrorists and rogue regimes, including hiding $19.4 billion in transactions with Iran. This investigation followed on from a probe by the US Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found that there was "significant potential for unreported money laundering or terrorist financing".
On 11 December 2012, HSBC agreed to pay a record $1.92 billion fine in this money laundering case. "Bank officials repeatedly ignored internal warnings that HSBC's monitoring systems were inadequate, the Justice Department said. In 2008, for example, the CEO of HSBC Mexico was told that Mexican law enforcement had a recording stating that HSBC Mexico was the place to launder money." The United States Department of Justice, however, decided not to pursue criminal penalties, a decision which the New York Times labelled a "dark day for the rule of law." HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver said: "We accept responsibility for our past mistakes. We have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again."
Since 2013
In July 2013, Alan Keir was appointed chief executive of HSBC Bank plc after Brian Robertson's resignation. Keir's duties include overseeing the firm's UK, European, Middle Eastern, and African divisions.
In June 2014, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary HSBC Life (UK) Limited agreed to sell its £4.2 billion UK pensions business to Swiss Re. In February 2015 the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released information about the business conduct of HSBC under the title Swiss Leaks based on the 2007 hacked HSBC account records from whistle-blower Hervé Falciani. The ICIJ alleges that the bank profited from doing business with corrupt politicians, dictators, tax evaders, dealers of blood diamonds, arms dealers and other clients. US Senate investigators in 2012 had sought the hacked HSBC account records from Falciani and French authorities, but never received the data.
HSBC announced in August 2015 that it would be selling its Brazilian unit to Banco Bradesco for $5.2 billion following years of disappointing performance. In 2015, HSBC was recognised as the most trusted foreign bank in India by The Brand Trust Report 2015.
In 2016, the bank was mentioned numerous times in connection with the Panama Papers investigation. Many Syrians were angered when their accounts were judged high-risk and closed, despite the bank reportedly telling Mossack Fonseca it was "comfortable" with Rami Makhlouf as a customer, even though US Treasury sanctions against him were in effect at the time.
On 20 March 2017, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder KGB-related funds out of Russia, as uncovered by an investigation named Global Laundromat. HSBC was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were "facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers," as HSBC "processed $545.3m in Laundromat cash, mostly routed through its Hong Kong branch." Other banks facing scrutiny under the investigation included the Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays and Coutts. In response, HSBC stated that it was against financial crime, and that the case "highlights the need for greater information sharing between the public and private sectors."
On 1 October 2017, Mark Tucker succeeded Douglas Flint as group chairman of HSBC, the first non-executive and outside chairman appointed by the group. Also in October 2017, HSBC announced that John Flint, chief executive of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, would succeed Stuart Gulliver as Group Chief Executive on 21 February 2018. It was further announced on 5 August 2019 that Flint was leaving and his role would be filled on a temporary basis by Noel Quinn, head of HSBC's global commercial bank. Noel Quinn was subsequently appointed to the role on a permanent basis in March 2020.
In February 2020, HSBC announced it would cut 35,000 jobs worldwide after it was announced corporate profits decreased by 33% in 2019.
In October 2020, HSBC committed to achieve zero-emission by 2050, e.g., by this year it would not only become carbon neutral by itself but also will work only with carbon-neutral clients. It also committed to providing 750–1,000 billion dollars to help clients make the transition. It also pledged to achieve carbon neutrality in his own operations by 2030.
In January 2021, HSBC announced that it would be closing 82 branches in Britain. In May 2021, HSBC announced the exit of US retail banking business by selling 10 California branches to Cathay Bank and 80 branches to Citizens Financial Group and closing the remaining branches. The bank said it intends to focus on the banking and wealth management needs of globally connected affluent and high net worth clients.
In May 2021, HSBC committed to end the financing of the coal industry, with a commitment to publish a new coal policy and provide further detail on its climate strategy by the end of 2021. The organisation's "Thermal Coal Phase-Out Policy" was published in December 2021.
In August 2021, HSBC announced the acquisition of AXA Singapore. HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC would acquire 100% of the issued share capital of AXA Singapore for $575m. In December 2021, HSBC Asset Management (India) Private Ltd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC announced it would acquire L&T Investment Management for $425 million from L&T Finance Holdings.
In June 2022, HSBC announced its intention to sell its business in Russia. This requires approval from the Russian government, and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024. The projected loss is $300 million. A possible buyer is the Russian Expobank. In February 2024, the President of Russia allowed HSBC and Expobank to carry out this transaction.
In July 2022, HSBC became the first foreign lender to open a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee in its Chinese investment banking subsidiary. The subsidiary, HSBC Qianhai Securities, is a 90% HSBC-owned joint venture.
In November 2022, HSBC announced its intention to exit the Canadian market. Royal Bank of Canada would acquire 100% of the common shares of HSBC Canada for an all-cash purchase price of $13.5 billion, 9.4 times HSBC Canada's estimated 2024 earnings. Completion of the transaction is expected by late 2023, subject to regulatory approvals. HSBC has been under pressure to cut costs and divest non-Asian businesses.
In February 2023, HSBC announced that its profits for the last quarter of 2022 had almost doubled compared to those at the same time the previous year. However, its pre-tax profit actually fell because it absorbed the cost of selling its French retail banking operations. The bank also announced that they were closing 114 branches in the United Kingdom. The move came as more people were using online banking since the pandemic, reducing the need for physical branches. The move has been criticized by Unite.
As interest rates increased globally in May 2023, HSBC Holdings reported a 212% increase in quarterly profit.
In May 2023, HSBC defeated a proposal, backed by its largest stakeholder Chinese insurer Ping An, to consider spinning off its Asia business into a Hong Kong-listed entity.
In December 2023, HSBC Asset Management announced they would be acquiring the Singapore Based Investment manager, Silkroad Property Partners. The proposed acquisition includes Singapore-based SilkRoad Property Partners Pte Ltd, along with its subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, and the five general partner entities associated with its active funds. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The deal would expand HSBC’s real estate fund management capabilities in the region by bringing on board a business with an estimated $2 billion in assets under management, primarily in value-add strategies, as well as a senior team with experience executing deals in the region’s major cities.
In 2024, HSBC, as part of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, began developing a roadmap to phase out checks in the city and switch to electronic payments. According to Hong Kong Interbank Clearing, check transactions in Hong Kong fell to HK$488.6 billion (US$62.5 billion) in December, down 13 percent year-on-year.
In 2024, HSBC announced an international payments app, a competitor to Revolut and Wise apps. It will also focus on retail customers and low-cost currency exchange.
In 2024, HSBC Philippines launched "Omni Collect" to allow companies to connect to HSBC’s single API to offer and manage payments across multiple channels. "It supports multiple online and offline payment options for customers and delivers transaction data through HSBC’s global digital platform, HSBCnet," the bank Head Art Tanseco said.
On 9 April 2024, HSBC announced the sale of its Argentina business to Galicia for $550 million. HSBC said that the deal awaited government approval but was expected to be finalized by the year-end.
Operations
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HSBC has its world headquarters at 8 Canada Square in Canary Wharf, London. In June 2023, the bank announced its intentions to exit this building when its lease expires in 2027, stating their intention to move to a building in the City of London near St Paul's Cathedral.
Size, profit and auditors
- As of 2014, according to Relsbank, HSBC was the fourth-largest bank in the world by assets (with $2,670.00 billion), the second largest in terms of revenues (with $146.50 billion) and the largest in terms of market value (with $180.81 billion).
- It was also the most profitable bank in the world with $19.13 billion in net income in 2007 (compared to Citigroup's $3.62 billion and Bank of America's $14.98 billion in the same period).
- In June 2006, The Economist stated that since the end of 2005 HSBC has been rated the largest banking group in the world by Tier 1 capital. In June 2014 The Banker ranked HSBC first in Western Europe and 5th in the world for Tier 1 capital.
- In February 2008, HSBC was named the world's most valuable banking brand by The Banker magazine.
- HSBC has been audited by PwC, one of the Big Four auditors since 2015.
- Despite being domiciled in the UK, HSBC generates around two-thirds of its profits in Asia, with China contributing 44% of the bank's profit in 2022.
Principal subsidiaries
These are HSBC's subsidiaries worldwide:
- Asia-Pacific
- HSBC Armenia (wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Europe B.V.)
- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
- Hang Seng Bank
- Hang Seng Bank (China)
- HSBC Bank Australia
- HSBC Bangladesh
- HSBC China
- HSBC Bank India
- HSBC Bank Indonesia
- HSBC Korea (Only commercial banking) (HSBC Korea withdrew consumer retail banking from South Korea in 2013)
- HSBC Bank Philippines
- HSBC Bank Malaysia
- HSBC New Zealand
- HSBC Bank Singapore
- HSBC Sri Lanka
- HSBC Taiwan
- HSBC Bank Vietnam
- Hang Seng Bank
HSBC ceased retail banking operations in Thailand and Japan in 2012. HSBC entered Brunei in 1947 but commenced winding down its operations in April 2016 citing the bank's optimisation of its global network and reduced complexity. As of 2019[update] HSBC stopped offering Amanah (a retail banking product and service in compliance with the Islamic Shari'ah laws) in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore and the UAE following a strategic review of its global Islamic Finance businesses, while the bank continues on offering the same Shari'ah compliant products and services in Malaysia and in Saudi Arabia.
- Europe
- HSBC Bank (Europe)
- HSBC France
- HSBC Greece
- HSBC Trinkaus und Burkhardt AG
- HSBC Bank Malta
- HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA
- HSBC UK Bank plc
Further, HSBC Private Bank is a name for UK-based private banking division. HSBC Expat is the offshore banking division of the HSBC Group based in St Helier, Jersey that focuses on providing finance and cross border services to expatriates and migrants.
- The Americas
- HSBC Bank Argentina
- HSBC Bank Bermuda
- HSBC Bank USA
- HSBC Finance Corporation
- HSBC México
- HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
- Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
- HSBC Bank Egypt
- HSBC Bank Jordan
- HSBC Bank Middle East
- HSBC Bank (Turkey)
- The Saudi British Bank
- HSBC Saudi Arabia
Principal business groups and divisions
HSBC organises its customer-facing activities within three business groups: Commercial Banking (CMB); Global Banking and Markets (GBM); Wealth and Personal Banking (WPB).
Commercial banking
HSBC provides financial services to small, medium-sized and middle-market enterprises. The group has more than 2 million such customers, including sole proprietors, partnerships, clubs and associations, incorporated businesses and publicly quoted companies.
In December 2015, HSBC announced that Noel Quinn will succeed Simon Cooper as the chief executive officer of Commercial Banking. Simon Cooper has decided to leave the bank to pursue other opportunities.
Global banking and markets
Global Banking and Markets is the investment banking arm of HSBC. For Global Banking, it provides investment banking and financing products for corporate and institutional clients, including corporate banking, investment banking, capital markets, trade services, payments and cash management, and leveraged acquisition finance. For Markets and Securities Services, it provides services in equities, credit and rates, foreign exchange, money markets and securities services. Global Banking and Markets has offices in more than 60 countries and territories worldwide, and positions itself as "emerging markets-led and financing-focused".
Wealth and personal banking
Wealth and Personal Banking helps customers to take care of their day-to-day finances and to manage, protect and grow their wealth. HSBC provides more than 54 million customers worldwide with a full range of personal financial services, including current and savings accounts, mortgage loans, car financing, insurance, credit cards, loans, pensions and investments. Retail Banking and Wealth Management (also known as RBWM) was previously referred to as Personal Financial Services (PFS). This rename was announced during HSBC's 2011 Investor Day.
In 2020, HSBC announced merging two of its business lines: Retail Banking and Wealth Management & Global Private Banking to form a new business unit as Wealth and Personal Banking.
Group service centers
As a cost-saving measure HSBC is offshoring processing work to lower-cost economies to reduce the cost of providing services in developed countries. These locations take on work such as data processing and customer service, but also internal software engineering at Pune (India), Gurgaon (India), Bangalore (India), Chennai (India), Hyderabad (India), Vishakhapatnam (India), Kolkata (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Guangzhou (China), Kraków (Poland), Curitiba (Brazil) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). chief operating officer Alan Jebson said in March 2005 that he would be very surprised if fewer than 25,000 people were working in the centers over the next three years: "I don't have a precise target but I would be surprised if we had less than 15 (global service centers) in three years' time." He went on to say that each centre cost the bank from $20m to $30m to set up, but that for every job moved the bank saves about $20,000 (£10,400). Trades unions, particularly in the UK and US, blame these centers for job losses and also for the effective imposition of wage caps on their members.
Products
HSBC Direct
HSBC Direct is a telephone/online direct banking operation which attracts customers through mortgages, accounts and savings. It was first launched in the USA in November 2005 and is based on HSBC's 'First Direct' subsidiary in Britain which was launched in the 1980s. The service is now also available in Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, France. Poland is launching business direct in September 2009. In the US, HSBC Direct is now part of HSBC Advance.
HSBCnet
HSBCnet provides access to transaction banking functionality – ranging from payments and cash management to trade services features – as well as to research and analytical content from HSBC. It also includes foreign exchange and money markets trading functionality. The system is used widely by HSBC's high-end corporate and institutional clients served variously by the bank's global banking and markets, commercial banking, and global transaction banking divisions. HSBCnet is also the brand under which HSBC markets its global e-commerce proposition to its corporate and institutional clients.
HSBC Advance
HSBC Advance is the group's product aimed at working professionals. The exact benefits and qualifications vary depending on country, but typically require a monthly direct deposit or maintain US$5,000 of deposit/investments or residential mortgage. Business owners may use commercial relationship to qualify. Advantages may vary depending on country, such as day-to-day banking services including but not limited to a Platinum Credit Card, Advance ATM Card, Current Account and Savings Account. Protection plans and Financial Planning Services. A HSBC Advance customer enables the customer to open accounts in another country and transfer their credit history.
HSBC Premier
HSBC Premier is the group's premium financial services product. It has its own portfolio of credit cards around the world. The exact benefits and qualification criteria vary depending on the country. Customers have a dedicated premier relationship manager, global 24-hour access to call centres, free banking services, and preferential rates. A HSBC Premier customer receives the HSBC Premier services in all countries that offer HSBC Premier, without having to meet that country's qualifying criteria ("Premier in One, Premier in All").
HSBC Jade
HSBC Jade is an invite-only financial services product aimed at individuals with net worths typically between $1 million and $5 million in investible assets held with HSBC. Before invitation, members must be HSBC Premier members for a designated period of time. In addition to HSBC Premier benefits, HSBC Jade have select concierge services, estate planning services, and access to Jade Centres around the globe.
Logo
The group announced in November 1998 that the HSBC brand and the hexagon symbol would be adopted as the unified brand in all the markets where HSBC operates, with the aim of enhancing recognition of the group and its values by customers, shareholders and staff throughout the world. The hexagon symbol was originally adopted by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation as its logo in 1983. It was developed from the bank's house flag, a white rectangle divided diagonally to produce a red hourglass shape. Like many other Hong Kong company flags that originated in the 19th century, and because of its founder's nationality, the design was based on the cross of Saint Andrew. The logo was designed by Austrian graphic artist Henry Steiner.
In 2018, HSBC made minor changes to their logo. The wordmark was repositioned from left to the right, resized to be smaller, and was switched from Serif to a licensed custom font called Univers Next for HSBC. The logo red was made slightly darker red.
Sponsorships
Having sponsored the Jaguar Racing Formula One team since the days of Stewart Grand Prix, HSBC ended its relationship with motorsport after seven years when Red Bull purchased Jaguar Racing from Ford.
In the mid-2000s, HSBC switched its focus to golf, taking title sponsorship of several events such as the HSBC World Match Play Championship, HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship (now defunct), WGC-HSBC Champions, Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, HSBC Women's Champions, HSBC Golf Business Forum and HSBC Golf Roots (a youth development programme). HSBC was named the 'Official Banking Partner' of the Open Championship, in a five-year deal announced in 2010.
In October 2010, the International Rugby Board announced that they had concluded a 5-year deal with HSBC which granted them status as the first-ever title sponsor of the World Sevens Series. Through the accord, HSBC is paying more than $100 million for the title naming rights to all the tournaments. HSBC opted to sub-license the naming rights to all but one of the individual tournaments while retaining its name sponsorship of the overall series and the Hong Kong Sevens. The company also sponsors the Hong Kong Rugby Union and the New South Wales Waratahs team in Super Rugby. It sponsored British & Irish Lions during their 2009 tour to South Africa and 2013 tour to Australia.
HSBC is the official banking partner of the Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament, providing banking facilities on site and renaming the junior event as the HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge.
HSBC's other sponsorships are mainly in the area of education, health and the environment. In November 2006, HSBC announced a $5 million partnership with SOS Children as part of Future First.
Ownership
Around 44% of HSBC shares are held by the general public and around 56% are held by institutions. The largest shareholders in early 2024 were:
- BlackRock (8.9%)
- Ping An Asset Management (8.82%)
- The Vanguard Group (4.75%)
- Norges Bank (2.87%)
- Legal & General (1.89%)
- State Street Global Advisors (1.66%)
- HSBC Asset Management (1.12%)
- UBS Asset Management AG (1.05%)
- HSBC Holdings General Employee Benefit Trust (0.9%)
- Schroder Investment Management (0.71%)
- Northern Trust Global Investments (0.68%)
- Aviva Investors (0.64%)
- Royal London Asset Management (0.61%)
- Amundi (0.54%)
- Abrdn Plc (0.53%)
Leadership
- Group Chairman: Mark Tucker (October 2017 to present)
- Group Chief Executive: Noel Quinn (March 2020 to present)
List of former group chairmen
The position of Group Chairman was formed in 1991; the preceding position, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, has remained a separate position.
- Sir William Purves (1991–1998); concurrently Group Chief Executive from 1991 to 1993
- Sir John Bond (1998–2006)
- The Lord Green (2006–2010)
- Sir Douglas Flint (2010–2017)
List of former group chief executives
The position of Group Chief Executive was formed in 1991; the preceding position, chief executive of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, has remained a separate position.
- William Purves (1991–1993)
- John Bond (1993–1998)
- Keith Whitson (1998–2003)
- Stephen Green (2003–2006)
- Michael Geoghegan (2007–2010)
- Stuart Gulliver (2011–2018)
- John Flint (2018–2019)
See also
In Spanish: HSBC para niños
- HSBC lions
- List of banks in the United Kingdom
- List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
- List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities
- Peking University HSBC Business School
- Primary dealer
- Too big to fail
