Will HSBC up sticks to Asia?

High-street bank HSBC has launched a major revamp. But moving to Hong Kong or Singapore isn't so easy.

Banking giant HSBC has launched a major revamp, with plans to sell underperforming assets and boost profits. It will cut its assets by a quarter and plough most of the capital released into fast-growing Asia, which accounted for 78% of last year's $19bn of pre-tax profits. Costs are set to fall by $5bn overall 25,000 jobs will go, including 8,000 in the UK, where it has decided to rebrand its high-street retail business after 2018.

It may revive the Midland name, or call it First Direct, the name of its current phone and internet bank. That business could then be spun off. HSBC also released a document called "Structured Review of Location of Holding Company", which spelt out 11 criteria for its decision on where to base its headquarters. It has been threatening to re-domicile in Asia, from the UK.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Andrew Van Sickle
Editor, MoneyWeek

Andrew is the editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He grew up in Vienna and studied at the University of St Andrews, where he gained a first-class MA in geography & international relations.

After graduating he began to contribute to the foreign page of The Week and soon afterwards joined MoneyWeek at its inception in October 2000. He helped Merryn Somerset Webb establish it as Britain’s best-selling financial magazine, contributing to every section of the publication and specialising in macroeconomics and stockmarkets, before going part-time.

His freelance projects have included a 2009 relaunch of The Pharma Letter, where he covered corporate news and political developments in the German pharmaceuticals market for two years, and a multiyear stint as deputy editor of the Barclays account at Redwood, a marketing agency.

Andrew has been editing MoneyWeek since 2018, and continues to specialise in investment and news in German-speaking countries owing to his fluent command of the language.