(7 June 2006 – Australia) HSBC has sold its Australian online stockbroking business to E-Trade for about US$51 million.HSBC said the decision to sell to E-Trade followed a strategic review of its Australian stockbroking business. The bank said the online broking industry was likely to continue to consolidate and that investment in technology would increase significantly.
HSBC Australia chief executive Stuart Davis said although the bank had steadily increased its customer base, E-Trade’s interest in acquiring the business and entering into an ongoing strategic alliance with the bank was “an attractive offer”.
“Their level of commitment ensures our 40,000 customers will continue to have access to a first class broking service,” he said.
“Our strategy for growth in Australia places a strong emphasis on making full use of the HSBC Group’s strengths and participating in market opportunities where we have a strong comparative advantage,” Davis said.
“For our retail banking customers, this includes our new consumer finance initiative and, for our corporate customers, initiatives in areas such as project finance, trade finance, debt capital markets and payments and cash management.”
E-Trade is the second largest online broker in Australia.