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London. It is the world's largest company and the world's largest banking group (Forbes list, 2008). HSBC
was named the world's most valuable banking brand by The Banker magazine (2008).
HSBC was established in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China
and Europe by Scotsman Thomas Sutherland, who wanted a bank operating on "sound Scottish banking
principles
HSBC Holdings plc is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales in 1990,
and headquartered in London since 1993.[1] As of 2009, it is both the world's largest banking
group and the world's 6th largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes
magazine.[2][3] The group was founded from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation based in Hong Kong, the acronym of which led to the current name. Today, whilst
no single geographical area dominates the group's earnings, Hong Kong still continues to be a
significant source of its income. Recent acquisitions and expansion in China are returning HSBC
to part of its roots.[4] HSBC has an enormous operational base in Asia and significant lending,
investment, and insurance activities around the world. The company has a global reach and
financial fundamentals matched by few other banking or financial multinationals.[5]
HSBC is listed on the London, New York, Hong Kong, Paris and Bermuda Stock Exchanges, and
is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and the Hang Seng Index.
Development of the bank
HSBC in Kolkata.
• HSBC Bank Australia Limited gained its banking licence in 1986. Today, the bank
offers a full range of Personal and Commercial services via a network of branches as well
as direct channels.
• HSBC Bangladesh opened its first branch in 1996 and now has 10 offices there.
• HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited and HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited
HSBC established its Shanghai branch office on 3 April 1865 and has had a continuous
presence in the city since then, except for a break during the Japanese Occupation. Until
the economic reforms of the late 1970s, its activities were mainly in inward remittances
and export bills, however its activities now span a wider range. HSBC has purchased
stakes in various local firms, including 19% of Bank of Communications, 8% of Bank of
Shanghai, 16.8% of Ping An Insurance and via its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank, 12.8% of
Industrial Bank. In 1996, HSBC was one of the first foreign banks approved to conduct
renminbi business in Shanghai. The bank opened a new office in Chengdu and received
approval to open a branch in Pudong and upgrade its Dalian office to a branch.
• HSBC first opened for business in Hong Kong on 3 March 1865. It is one of three
commercial banks that issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes in the Hong Kong SAR and
has the largest share by value. The Hang Seng Index for stock prices in Hong Kong is
named after the Hang Seng Bank Limited, which is a subsidiary of HSBC. The two banks
are today first and second by market share in Hong Kong.
• HSBC India. In 1959 HSBC acquired The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China,
established in October 1853 in Bombay. HSBC is now one of the fastest growing foreign
banks in India, both in domestic banking and support operations for worldwide
operations (see Group Service Centres).
• HSBC opened its first Indonesian office in Batavia in 1884 to serve the sugar trade. It
then expanded its operation to Surabaya in 1896. Later in 1994 HSBC upgraded its
Semarang agency, which it had opened in 1878, into a full branch. HSBC twice closed its
operations in Indonesia. The first closure was during World War II, though it immediately
returned after the war. In the mid-1960s, the Indonesia government forced the bank to
close again, but the bank received a new banking license in 1968. In October 2008,
HSBC paid US$608 million to acquire 89% of Bank Ekonomi, which had 2,200 staff, 86
branches, and about US$1.8 billion in assets. The acquisition made HSBC the third
largest bank in the country, and gave it a total of 190 branches in 24 cities.
• HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad traces its history back to the opening of the first HSBC
office in Penang in 1884. The bank later became an issuer of currency notes for the
Malaysian government. In 1994, HSBC became the first foreign bank to incorporate
locally, forming Hongkong Bank Malaysia Berhad (now HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad).
The bank today provides a full range of personal and commercial financial services.
HSBC Holdings plc in London UK is set to shift a significant number of jobs from
Britain to its new operational headquarters in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. HSBC operates a call
centre in Cyberjaya,Malaysia, a cybercity in Malaysia.
• HSBC started its operations in Pakistan in 1982. Since then it has expanded to all major
cities of Pakistan and operates as a full service bank. It currently has 12 offices: four in
Karachi, two in Lahore, two in Islamabad and one each in Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Multan
and Faisalabad. The head-office is based in Karachi.
• The HSBC Group is represented in the Philippines through The Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation Limited, and its subsidiary, the locally-incorporated HSBC Savings
Bank (Philippines) Inc. HSBC opened its first branch in the Philippines in Binondo in
November 1875. In 1883, a second branch was opened in Iloilo to serve the growing
sugar industry. In 1971, the branch in Binondo was moved to Makati City. Ten years later,
in 1981, the Iloilo branch was closed and a new branch in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, was
opened.
• HSBC Singapore operates as a full service bank with its headquarters in Collyer Quay. It
is an approved Primary Dealer in the Singapore Government Securities Market and an
Approved Bond Intermediary, with over a hundred staff operating one of the largest
integrated dealing rooms in Singapore.
• HSBC (Sri Lanka) traces its presence there to 1 July 1892. In 1882, HSBC appointed
Delmege Reid and Co., which became Delmege Forsyth and Co. Ltd., as its agent in
Colombo. In 1892, after the collapse of the New Oriental Banking Corporation HSBC
saw an opportunity and established a branch.
• HSBC (Thailand) initially opened a branch in Bangkok in 1888, becoming the first
commercial bank in the country. In 1889 HSBC issued the first banknotes in Thailand.
Later, in 1905, HSBC joined with France's Banque de l'Indochine to issue the first foreign
loan to the Thai government for its railroad construction project.
• HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Company Limited HSBC has had a long history in Vietnam,
having opened a branch in Saigon in 1870. The branch operated for over 100 years, until
its closure in 1975. In 1992, the bank opened representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City
(HCMC) and Hanoi; HSBC upgraded the office in HCMC to a full-service branch in
August 1995.
[edit] Europe
• HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc is a 70 per cent indirectly owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank.
Armenian business interests own the remaining equity. The bank began operations as
Midland Armenia Bank in Yerevan in March 1996 and was the first international bank to
open in Armenia. It is one of the leading banks in the foreign exchange market.
• HSBC opened its Prague Branch in May 1997.
• HSBC SA operates around 380 branches in France since the takeover of Credit
Commercial de France, primarily operating under the HSBC brand. HSBC France is now
the HSBC Group’s lead bank in the Eurozone, focusing on certain capital market
products for a global audience, and high net worth and international business in France.
• HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG traces its origins to 1785. It has operations in private,
commercial and investment banking and asset management.
• HSBC Hellas HSBC has been operating in Greece since 1981. In 2001, HSBC acquired
Barclay's operations in Greece, which amounted to 13 branches and included fund
management.
• HSBC Bank Malta plc is one of the largest banks in Malta. It is a listed company but its
majority shareholder is the HSBC Group. HSBC Bank Malta traces its origins back to the
founding of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank in 1864, which makes it the second oldest bank in
Malta.
• HSBC (Spain) dates back to the establishment of a branch in Madrid in 1982.
• HSBC Private Bank is the Swiss operating subsidiaries of the group's Private Banking
business, with 12 locations in the country.
• HSBC Bank AS is now the fifth largest private bank in Turkey, having expanded through
internal financing and via acquisition since entering the market in 1990. The bank has a
network of around 190 branches, offering products and services to corporate, commercial
and personal customers, both under the HSBC brand as well as the Advantage brand.
• HSBC Bank plc is one of the "Big Five" high street banks in the UK, maintaining a large
network of branches in England and Wales, with a smaller presence in Scotland and
Northern Ireland. It acquired this presence in 1992 with the acquisition of Midland Bank
plc. It also operates the previously Midland-owned telephone and internet bank First
Direct, the consumer lending brand Beneficial Finance, and the financial services
divisions of Marks & Spencer and the John Lewis Partnership.
• In Russia, HSBC operates through OOO HSBC Bank (RR),which is the 103rd largest
bank in the country and is an affiliate of HSBC Bank plc.
[edit] Middle East and Africa
• HSBC Algeria commenced operating in 2008, after HSBC received permission in 2007
from the Bank of Algeria to establish a subsidiary. The branch has a capital of 2,5 billion
dinars, or about 25 million euros, which it will increase to 3,6 billion dinars (36 million
euros) within three years. It is headed by an Algerian, Rachid Sekak, the former head of
foreign debt at the Bank of Algeria, who had earlier came from HSBC's operations in
Paris.[46]
• HSBC Bank Egypt SAE traces its origins to a joint-venture bank established in 1982. In
2001 HSBC was able to increase its ownership stake from 40% to 94.5%, after which it
rebranded the bank as part of the HSBC group.
• In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the HSBC Group is represented by HSBC Bank
Middle East Limited, the largest and most widely represented international bank in the
Middle East. HSBC's presence dates back to its acquisition in 1959 of British Bank of the
Middle East, which had been present in Jordan since 1889.
• HSBC dates its presence in Lebanon to 1949. HSBC has branches located in St. Georges
Bay, Dora, Ras Beirut, Verdun and Zouk.
• HSBC Bank Middle East Limited . HSBC Oman represents a key part of HSBC Bank
Middle East's business since 1959, with 6 branches and 3 customer services Oulet. HSBC
in Oman offers a full range of Personal Financial Services such as Current and Savings
Accounts, Time Deposits, packaged financial products like HSBC Premier and STATUS,
Credit Cards, Personal Loans and Home Loans.
• SABB (The Saudi British Bank) In Saudi Arabia HSBC is represented by The Saudi
British Bank, which is a 40% owned affiliate. HSBC is also a joint venture partner in
HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited, the Kingdom’s first full service independent investment
bank.
• HSBC Bank Middle East Limited The United Arab Emirates represents a key part of
HSBC Bank Middle East's business, with 16 branches and the firm's head office located
here.
• HSBC Bank Qatar provides a wide range of banking services for both corporate and
individual customers in Qatar. HSBC is the largest foreign bank in Qatar and has five
branches, in Doha Main Office, Al Sadd, West Bay, FTB and Grand Hamad Street as well
as a large network of ATMs at 21 different locations.
• HSBC established an indirect presence in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1981 through Equator
Bank, a joint venture with Nedbank and the bank's executives, and entered the South
African market in 1995 with a representative office. In 2003, HSBC converted the reop
office in Johannesburg to a branch. The Johannesburg branch is now the regional
management office for all of HSBC's Sub-Saharan Africa activities and offers corporate
banking, transaction banking, investment banking, treasury and capital markets services
to HSBC's major multinational clients, large local corporate and financial institutions,
and governments. HSBC Securities (South Africa) offers equities services.
[edit] Global product lines and programmes
[edit] Group Service Centres
HSBC in New York.
As a cost saving measure HSBC is offshoring processing work to lower cost economies in order
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,
Hyderabad (India), Visakahpatnam (India), Kolkota (India), Guangzhou (China), and Curitiba
(Brazil).
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 centres 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 centres) 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).[47]
Trade unions, particularly in the US and UK, blame these centres for job losses in developed
countries, and also for the effective imposition of wage caps on their members.[47]
Currently centres exist in seven countries, in Brazil in Curitiba, in Czech Republic in Ostrava, in
India in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Kolkata and Pune, in China
in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Colombo (Kotte) (Sri
Lanka) and Manila (Philippines). The Malta trial for a UK high value call centre has resulted in a
growing operation in Malta. An option under consideration is reported to be a processing centre
in Vietnam to access the French skills of the population and therefore cut costs in the bank’s
French operation.
On June 27, 2006, HSBC reported that a "small number" of customers had suffered from fraud
totalling £233,000 after an employee at the Bangalore call centre supplied confidential customer
information to fraudsters.[48]
[edit] HSBC Private Bank
HSBC Private Bank [49] is the group's private banking operation, providing private banking and
trustee services to wealthy individuals and their families worldwide. The Private Bank has in
excess of 60 offices worldwide, with the major centres being Miami, New York, London, Geneva
and Hong Kong.
[edit] HSBC Premier
HSBC Premier[50] is the group's premium financial services product. The exact benefits and
qualification criteria vary depending on country, but typically require deposits and investments
of at least $100,000, £50,000, or €100,000. Alternatively those who have an individual annual
income of at least £100,000 paid into their HSBC Premier Bank Account and are a customer of
the bank's Independent Financial Advisory Service. Customers have a dedicated relationship
manager, global 24 hour access to call centres and preferential rates.
[edit] HSBC Bank International
HSBC Bank International[51] is the offshore banking arm of the HSBC Group, focusing on
providing offshore solutions and cross border services to expatriates and migrants. It provides a
full range of multi-currency personal banking services to a range of customer segments,
including a full internet banking and telephone banking service. Sometimes referred to as
"HSBC Offshore", the business also offers independent financial planning, and has
representative offices all over the world, often working alongside local HSBC operations in those
regions.
HSBC Bank International originated from the business started by Midland Bank and is based in
the Channel Islands with further operations on the Isle of Man. Its operations in the Channel
Islands are centred around its registered headquarters on the seafront in St Helier, Jersey. Named
'HSBC House', the building comprises departments such as Premier, Global Funds &
Investments, e-Business and a 24 hour 'Direct Banking Centre'.
[edit] HSBCnet
HSBCnet[52] is a global service that caters to local business needs by offering specialised
functionality for different regions worldwide.
The system 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.
HFC Bank (UK Operation) is a wholly owned subsidiary, with 135 High Street branches in the
UK selling loans to the "sub-prime" market. During 2007 and 2008, has been trying to fend off a
union recognition campaign by the Trade Union Unite.
[edit] HSBC Direct
HSBC Direct is an online direct banking operation which attracts customers through high-
interest savings accounts and no service charges or minimum account balance requirements. It
was first launched in the USA[53] in November 2005 and is now available in Canada,[54] Taiwan[55]
and South Korea.[56] Poland is launching business direct in September 2009.
[edit] Brand and advertising
The group announced in November 1999 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.
[edit] Logo
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 graphic artist Henry Steiner.
Cash Management
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