HSBC to slash its money-losing US banking business through sale

HSBC, one of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world, is withdrawing most of its retail banking business in the U.S. The bank announced its decision on Wednesday, May 26.

HSBC stated that it will now close a number of its retail banking outlets in the region, and with this move, only 25 locations will remain out of its total of 148 branches. CNN Business reported that the ones that will stay would be transformed into international wealth management centers.

HSBC’s plan after closing over a hundred bank branches

The bank will not totally pull out in the American market as select locations will remain open. However, these will not be the same establishment that will offer the usual retail banking services.

Rather, HSBC will be focusing on banking and wealth management to cater to the needs of customers on a global level. To be more specific, the bank explained it will provide services according to the “needs of globally connected affluent and high net worth clients."

It was reported that the bank’s decision to exit its US bank retail business was actually anticipated. This is because HSBC already warned in the past that the company must cut costs, especially in the U.S., where it has been struggling to gain a strong foothold.

Bank location sell-offs

HSBC will now sell big chunks of its U.S. business, and as of Wednesday, there are some buyers already. It was mentioned that Citizens Bank in Rhode Island agreed to acquire its East Coast retail unit that has 80 branches with over 800,000 customers.

"We are pleased to announce the sale of the domestic mass market of our US retail banking business,” HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement. “They are good businesses, but we lacked the scale to compete. This next chapter of HSBC's presence in the US will see the team focus on our competitive strengths, connecting our global wholesale and wealth management clients to other markets around the world."

Fox Business added that on the West Coast, 10 HSBC bank branches will be sold to Cathay Bank. These hold around 50,000 customers. Then again, it was said that the deals are still subject to regulatory approval and expected to complete within the first quarter of 2022.