(25 May 2023 – United Kingdom) HSBC is considering an exodus from several countries to refocus Asian expansion efforts according to HSBC Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Georges Elhedery.
The review stems directly from strident pressure by prominent Chinese shareholder Ping An Insurance’s active lobbying for HSBC to prioritise growth in Asia where the London headquartered bank generates over three quarters of its total profit.
HSBC's Asia realignment has already resulted in mooted spin offs of banking divisions in France, Greece, Russia and Canada since 2021 Reuters reports.
While the proposed changes do not apply to core markets, the signalled strategic shift reveals the immense pressure HSBC is under to “right size” its heralded “world's local bank” status. HSBC declined to disclose which markets were under review or over what time frame.
The strategic shift followed major Asia announcements including HSBC unveiling a new API based point-of-sale financing solution for business-to-business (B2B) transactions in Hong Kong. The offering seeks to empower B2B sellers on online platforms to provide extended payment terms to their business and institutional customers.
Brad Jones was also announced as the new Head of PayMe, HSBC’s mobile wallet offering in Hong Kong with 3 million users and a network of nearly 55,000 online and physical merchants.
“Some of these changes will have slower progress than others, and none of them is material enough on its own to change the profile of the overall business, but as we progress through and execute on these assessments, we do expect them to contribute towards that shift to Asia” stated HSBC CFO Georges Elhedery.