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Tag: HSBC

  • HSBC Sues Hin Leong Owners

    HSBC Sues Hin Leong Owners

    The bank, which is owed some $600 million by embattled oil trading firm Hin Leong, is the firm’s largest creditor and first to take legal action to recover losses.

    HSBC is suing Hin Leong owner Lim Oon Kuin and his two children to recover $85.3 million (S$115.8 million) of the $111.7 million they received using fake invoices and documents, according to a report last Friday.

    The bank, which is also suing Serene Seng Hui Choo, a manager of the corporate affairs department at Hin Leong, filed the suit in the High Court on October 21, a report said.

    Some 23 banks reportedly lent a total of $3.85 billion to the troubled oil trader, with HSBC reportedly believed to have the largest exposure. The oil trader overstated the value of assets by at least $3 billion by transferring money between bank accounts to create a false impression that accounts receivables were collected when no payments was actually received, according to a report.

    In September, the firm’s judicial manager PwC took action against Lim, his son Evan Lim Chee Meng and his daughter Lim Huey Ching, who are both executive directors at the company, accusing them of fraudulent trading and breaching their fiduciary duties as directors.

    According to the suit, the outstanding amount of $3.5 billion are Hin Leong’s debts, which the Lim family are personally responsible for, without limitation of liability

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  • HSBC Restructures Further and Faster

    HSBC Restructures Further and Faster

    HSBC will accelerate and expand restructure, despite beating analyst forecast with $3.1 billion of profit before tax in the third quarter. Profits were down $1.8 billion (37 percent) compared to the same period last year, according to the latest earnings release, supported by reducing risky credit and continued cost management. Year-to-date, the London-headquartered bank generated $9.9 billion in profit before tax.

    These were promising results against a backdrop of the continuing impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy, said group chief executive Noel Quinn.

    I’m pleased with the significantly lower credit losses in the quarter, and we are moving at pace to adapt our business model to a protracted low-interest-rate environment.

    Moving forward, the bank will focus on three main strategic priorities: growth acceleration in Asia continued digitalization, and further restructuring.

    On the latter area, the bank is looking to speed up and expand the initiative after saving $600 million in costs this year and shedding 10,000 jobs since the third quarter last year. U.S. and Europe are also restructuring and are also on pace to meet their 2022 targets. We are accelerating the transformation of the Group, moving our focus from interest-rate sensitive business lines towards fee-generating businesses, and further reducing our operating costs, Quinn said. We also intend to increase our rate of investment in Asia, particularly in wealth, the Greater Bay Area, south Asia, trade finance, and sustainable finance.

    According to Quinn, ECL charge for 2020 is trending lower towards the $8-13 billion range but he notes that current guidance makes the assumption that further significant economic deterioration is unlikely.

    In addition, he also highlighted geopolitical risks including U.S.-China tensions as well as uncertainties linked to Brexit.

    We expect lower global interest rates to continue to put pressure on net interest income, Quinn said. Based on current interest rates, we expect further modest net interest income headwinds in 4Q20, with some stabilization as we move into 2021.

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  • HSBC Life Names Duo Chiefs in Singapore

    HSBC Life Names Duo Chiefs in Singapore

    HSBC Life Singapore appointed two senior executives to further expand manufacturing and distribution activities in the city-state. HSBC Life Singapore named Philip Pang and How Chee Koon as a chief investment officer and chief product officer, respectively, according to a Business Times report.

    Pang is responsible for developing, executing, and overseeing the investment strategy of HSBC Life Singapore. He 15 years of experience in insurance and investments including eight years as the head of investments with Prudential Singapore and NTUC Income Singapore. Previously, he also worked with HSBC Global Asset Management in Hong Kong and Singapore.

    How is responsible for strategic implementation and execution of new product developments and the management of HSBC Life Singapore’s product suite. He has nearly 15 years of life insurance experience across product development, actuarial pricing and valuation, data analytics, distribution and marketing, and was most recently head of consumer marketing at AIA Singapore.

    According to HSBC, its life insurance unit in Singapore will play a key role in the broader bank’s ambitions to become a top wealth manager in Asia.

    HSBC Life Singapore’s chief executive Carlos Vazquez also underlined greater internal collaboration with the asset management and the $1.4 trillion wealth management unit – newly formed earlier this year by merging retail and private banking.

    HSBC rebranded its Singapore insurance business in May last year and has since signaled a growth drive by rolling out more products and expanding distribution to include partnerships with independent financial advisory firms.

    The British financier is not alone in expanding its insurance business in Singapore. Most recently, China Life Singapore said it would also accelerate expansion by hiring over 500 consultants by 2023 to target wealthy individuals in the city-state.

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  • HSBC Private Banking Names Southeast Asia Market Heads

    HSBC Private Banking Names Southeast Asia Market Heads

    Less than four months after the exit of single ex-market head of Singapore and Malaysia, HSBC Private Banking promotes two internally to head the respective markets.

    HSBC Private Banking named Ken Ng as market head for Singapore and Gary Goh as market head for Malaysia, replacing the former dual-head Chow Shang-Wei who resigned earlier this year after a four-year stint, according to a statement.

    Ng is an HSBC veteran, joining the British lender in 1995 with experience across wealth management, corporate banking and risk. He joined the private banking arm in 2014 and was previously a desk head.

    Goh has 23 years of experience in the financial industry and joined HSBC Private Banking in 2019 from Standard Chartered Private Bank where he headed the Singapore market. Previously, had also worked at UBS Wealth Management, as a desk head for its Chinese entrepreneur segment, as well as at Credit Suisse and Citigroup.

    Although the bank is running an accelerated global overhaul which includes 35,000 job cuts, it remains in growth mode in Asia especially following a restructuring that created a $1.4 trillion wealth and personal banking unit. The unit has set various expansion targets, including up to 3,000 hires by 2024 in its Guangzhou and Shanghai offices.

    In the latest duo appointments, the bank added that it would seek to double its Singapore wealth and personal banking unit over five years as part of its «efforts to cement Singapore’s role as a prime international wealth center.

    Southeast Asia is home to some of the fastest-growing economies spurring the next generation of wealthy entrepreneurs,» said Philip Kunz, Southeast Asia head of global private banking. «Singapore and Malaysia sit at the nexus as many entrepreneurs look to expand regionally.

    In the last 12 months, HSBC has been actively rostering senior positions in its private bank with a string of hires and internal appointments.

    Last month, the private bank promoted another duo – Jeffrey Yap and Adam Lau – as Southeast Asia head of investment services and product solutions and the newly created role of APAC head of market solutions, respectively. It also expanded to its Greater China product and investment teams in late 2019 with the addition of Lina Lim, ex-J.P. Morgan; Rocky Cheung, ex-DBS; and Simon Hwang, ex-Citi.

    Other senior moves included the hire of ex-Deutsche exec Lavanya Chari as the global head of products, investment and collaboration; ex-J.P. Morgan exec Sharon Oh as chief operating officer; and the appointment of Cynthia Lee as APAC head of private wealth solutions.

  • HSBC Ramps Up China Hiring Despite Tensions

    HSBC Ramps Up China Hiring Despite Tensions

    HSBC stay on course with its China ambitions with the latest target to hire 2,000 to 3,000 wealth planners over the next four years for its mainland business. HSBC’s will seek to broadly expand its count of wealth planners in Asia with much of the growing focus placed on China where it could hire up to 3,000 by 2024. The bank is already housing its first 100 digitally-enabled wealth planners in its Guangzhou and Shanghai offices.

    Our new venture in mainland China, signals not only our commitment but our progress in increasing investments in people, technology, and wealth capabilities over the next few years, said Greg Hingston, HSBC’s APAC head of wealth and personal banking, in a statement.

    This will be central to our ambitions to become the leading wealth manager in Asia.

    While accelerating its global overhaul which includes 35,000 job cuts, the bank continues to hire in the region, most notably for its China business.

    Since 2017, the bank hired 800 people for its wealth management business and opened six Jade Centers – its affluent segment – since the start of 2019. Earlier this year, the bank also reportedly said it had also planned to add another 500 to its private banking and wealth management business by 2022 with a focus on Hong Kong and Singapore.

    HSBC maintains its expansion plans for its newly merged retail and private banking unit despite increasing political uncertainty including, most notably, the British bank’s involvement in the Huawei scandal and its public support for the controversial national security law in Hong Kong.

    On the former, HSBC faces increasingly intense pressures in the mainland over its involvement which most recently included allegations that it feigned ignorance about Huawei’s dealings and even suggested that it took unnecessary risks that resulted in U.S. detection. State-backed media Global Times claimed last month that the bank’s resumption of planned job cuts may mark the beginning of the end for the embattled British bank in China, citing an unnamed Beijing observer that suggested it could be pushed out of the mainland market over the legal scandal.

    In the first half, pre-tax profits at HSBC plunged 65 percent to reach $4.32 billion missing analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. Although its China business posted $1.5 billion of pre-tax profits, the wealth and personal banking business in the country registered a $26 million loss.

  • HSBC’s First-Half Profit Dive Misses Analyst Forecasts

    HSBC’s First-Half Profit Dive Misses Analyst Forecasts

    HSBC’s pre-tax profits plummeted in the first half by 65 percent year-on-year as the Asia-focused lender further boosted loan loss provisions to ready for more headwinds. HSBC registered $4.32 billion in pre-tax profits compared to $12.41 billion in the same period last year and analyst forecasts of $5.67 billion, according to compilations made by the bank.

    Given the current high degree of uncertainty, we are continuing to monitor closely the implications on our business plan and medium-term financial targets, while also undertaking a review of our future dividend policy, HSBC’s chief executive Noel Quinn said in a statement.

    The bank also expected total credit impairment provisions for the year to reach between $8 billion and $13 billion, higher than previous forecasts. Provisions reached $6.9 billion in the first half after the bank said aside $3 billion in the first quarter, compared to just $1 billion in the first half of 2019.

    The bank also warned of expected damage to its core capital ratio as worsening credit ratings impact its risk-weighted asset ratio.

    Financial and economic headwinds aside, HSBC also highlighted the risk of rising U.S.-China tensions heightened by the national security law and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

    Like our clients, HSBC has to operate in a difficult geopolitical environment. Current tensions between China and the US inevitably create challenging situations for an organization with HSBC’s footprint, Quin added.

    However, the need for a bank capable of bridging the economies of east and west is acute, and we are well placed to fulfill this role. We will face any political challenges that arise with a focus on the long-term needs of our customers and the best interests of our investors.

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  • HSBC Promotes Investment Duo at Private Bank

    HSBC Promotes Investment Duo at Private Bank

    HSBC Private Banking promotes two executives in its investment and product solutions unit in Asia, effective immediately.

    The bank appoints Jeffrey Yap as head of investment services and product solutions (ISPS) for Southeast Asia after his last role as regional head of fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) Asia Pacific, according to a statement. Adam Lau has also been appointed to the newly created role of regional head of market solutions, Asia Pacific.

    Yap joined HSBC in 2017 from Alliance Group (PAG), where he was managing director responsible for the firm’s public fixed-income investments. Lau is a 20-year financial veteran who joined HSBC in 2018 from Natixis where he was its Greater China head of equity solution sales. He was also previously with Deutsche Bank as its Greater China head of private banking and retail sales and J.P. Morgan as a structured product marketer.

    Yap reports to Philip Kunz, head of Southeast Asia at HSBC Private Banking and Abdel Ben Tkhayet, APAC head of ISPS while Lau will continue to report to the latter.

    In addition to developing talent internally, the bank also highlighted Singapore as a key market for its wealth business and underlined specific client segments that bank in the booking center.

    As a leading international wealth center, Singapore is one of our key wealth markets, where we serve a significant group of international clients from Southeast Asia, Greater China and other parts of the world, Kunz.

    Under the leadership of [Yap] and [Lau], I’m confident that HSBC Private Banking will build on our strong momentum and expand and enhance our range of products and services to distinctly meet our clients’ wealth needs.

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  • HSBC Job Cuts Reach Asia

    HSBC Job Cuts Reach Asia

    HSBC’s cost-saving drive is reportedly set to accelerate even in its most profitable markets in Asia following the departure of its global head of equities. Hossein Zaimi is leaving HSBC, according to a report citing two unnamed sources, after joining the bank more than 16 years ago. Zaimi also took on the additional role of co-head of securities financing in March shortly after HSBC revealed plans for its investment bank overhaul.

    Adrian Lewis, EMEA head of equity capital markets (ECM), has also left to pursue opportunities outside of the industry, the report added. Lewis will be succeeded by Andrew Robinson, head of EMEA equity syndicate, reporting to Ed Sankey who was named global head of ECM in June 2019.

    While the lion’s share of cost cuts reside in Europe, the report noted that Asia – the most profitable region for HSBC – will not be immune to restructuring. Following Zaimi’s departure, more exits are expected in the region in the coming weeks.

    The bank originally planned to cut 35,000 jobs, $4.5 billion in costs, and $100 billion in risk-weighted assets before postponing the overhaul in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. In June, HSBC reportedly resumed such activities in June and was considering deeper cuts including more job losses or the possible sale of some businesses.

    Simultaneously, the bank is also expanding its newly created wealth and personal banking unit – a combination of the whole private client business from retail to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals – with around half of its $4 trillion in assets from Asia.

    Since 2017, the bank has hired 800 employees for its affluent and emerging high net worth client businesses – Premier and Jade, respectively – across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China including relationship managers, investment counselors, UHNW solution specialists, and product specialists.

  • HSBC Nets Southeast Asia Equities Duo from Deutsche Bank

    HSBC Nets Southeast Asia Equities Duo from Deutsche Bank

    HSBC bolsters its Southeast Asian equities unit in Singapore with two new hires from Deutsche Bank, furthering its Asia expansion amid a major overhaul. HSBC hires Edward Lee as regional head of equity capital markets and Joy Wang as the head of Southeast Asia equities research, according to a report.

    Lee had over 20 years of industry experience and was most recently with Deutsche Bank as its co-head of investment banking coverage and head of equity capital markets, Southeast Asia.

    Wang was also most recently with Deutsche Bank where she was last its co-head of APAC property equity research in addition to other roles.

    Lee and Wang become the third joiners in less than a year from Deutsche Bank to HSBC in Singapore. In September last year, HSBC named ex-Deutsche Bank regional vice chairman Philip Lee as its new Southeast Asia vice-chairman.

    Restructuring at both HSBC and Deutsche Bank has led to a flurry of talent movement between the two lenders across business divisions. Just last month, Deutsche Bank hired former HSBC private banker Chow Shang-Wei to become the Southeast Asia head of its wealth arm.

    And outside of Asia, HSBC reportedly hired Deutsche Bank’s former co-head of corporate finance for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Adam Bagshaw as its global co-head of advisory and investment banking coverage.

  • HSBC Singapore Spared as Overhaul Resumes

    HSBC Singapore Spared as Overhaul Resumes

    The bank’s said that the city-state remains a growth market and will continue to hire talent in its bid to become the leading international bank.

    Singapore will not be affected this year by the bank’s restructuring exercise that is expected to see it shed some 35,000 employees globally, people familiar with the matter said.

    The bank said plans to hire more than 400 retail and private banking customer-facing employees by 2023 also remains on track.

    Since 2018, HSBC Singapore has grown its headcount by 10 percent and has invested in our premises, digital capability and propositions in order to grow our customer base and market share,» a spokesperson said, the newspaper reported. «These investments and growth ambitions will continue.

    Yesterday, HSBC lifted its moratorium on job cuts to about 15 percent of its workforce, announced in March at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn, who unveiled the overhaul in February, told the bank’s 235,000 global staff in a memo that the exercise is even more necessary today.

    The British lender is currently at the center of a controversy over its support for Beijing’s new security law for Hong Kong, the bank’s most important market.

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  • HSBC APAC Chief Risk Officer Steps Down

    HSBC APAC Chief Risk Officer Steps Down

    Family reasons were cited as the recent for the exit with an interim head being flown in from the U.K. Ed Jenkins steps down after joining HSBC more than a decade ago and less than a year after being named chief risk officer for the region. He will take a sabbatical after July 1 before returning to the bank in October, according to a report citing an internal memo.

    Marc McKewon, Jenkins’ predecessor, will return from the U.K. to become the Hong Kong-based interim chief risk officer. McKewon is currently the global chief corporate credit officer, head of the wholesale market and credit risk.

    HSBC has been a major receipt of increasing risks across social, economic and political fronts. In addition to the broad-based effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the bank has been spotlighted in reported tensions with pro-democracy protesters; dividend-hungry shareholders; Beijing-backed officials; British Tory members; and internal staff.

    HSBC is also concurrently attempting to restart and deepen an overhaul originally targeting a giant reduction of 35,000 job, $4.5 billion in costs and $100 billion in risk-weighted assets.

  • Offshore Banking Inquiries From Hong Kongers Spike

    Offshore Banking Inquiries From Hong Kongers Spike

    HSBC and Standard Chartered were reportedly amongst the lenders experiencing a significant increase in offshore banking inquiries from Hong Kong residents.

    The two British lenders both registered a 25-30 percent jump in inquiries, according to a  report citing two unnamed sources who observed an increased demand for offshore accounts. Another two sources noted that while there have been no large outflows in the last two weeks, the increased inquiries is slowing banks’ response time for account opening which can now take at least one month.

    Popular offshore banking locations in include Singapore, U.K., Sydney and Taiwan, the report added while also citing Citi amongst lenders that observed increased demand.

    Spokespersons from all three banks claimed to have observed no significant capital outflow.

    Deteriorating U.S.-China relations and increasing tightening by Beijing are driving more and more concerns about the need to diversify holdings and booking centers. According to another source, recently observed demand represents the second wave of offshore account opening after the first one following anti-government protests in June last year.

    What I’m worried about the most is I might not be able to freely exchange Hong Kong dollar anymore if the U.S. decided to sanction Hong Kong, the report added, citing a middle-aged resident who diversified 70 percent of her savings into U.S. dollar and British pounds while now seeking an offshore account.

    If things get messy here I might not even be able to transfer my money out in the worst-case scenario, so it’s good to diversify risks.

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  • HSBC Adds Offshore Investment Options

    HSBC Adds Offshore Investment Options

    The bank has become the first international bank in China to roll out Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) investments.

    HSBC is expanding overseas investment options for its Chinese high-net-worth (HNW) clients under a partnership with China International Fund Management – 51 percent-owned by J.P. Morgan Asset Management – to distribute asset management plans investing in QDLP, the bank announced on Tuesday.

    The QDLP scheme facilitates investments in offshore traditional and alternative investments by allowing qualified foreign asset managers to raise money in Chinese currency from a qualified individual and institutional investors in mainland China to invest in alternative assets abroad.

    This new scheme will help clients diversify their investments and leverage overseas opportunities to mitigate risks in their overall portfolio and further grow their wealth, especially amid uncertainty in the global markets, Richard Li, executive vice president and head of wealth and personal banking, HSBC China, said.

    Unlike the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QDII) program, QDLP can direct Chinese domestic investors’ funds to overseas markets and allow investments in alternative assets, including hedge funds, private equity funds, and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

    A QDLP pilot was launched by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange in 2013. Since its launch, China has granted a total of $5 billion in quotas.

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  • HSBC Digital Payment User Growth Surges

    HSBC Digital Payment User Growth Surges

    HSBC’s PayMe – Hong Kong’s largest e-wallet operator – reached 2 million users, fuelled in part by the city’s love for card and tile games.

    The 2 million users represented a 25 percent year-on-year increase as transactions in the broader e-wallet payment activity, run by 10 operators, tripled due to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s faster payment systems (FPS).

    According to HSBC’s managing director and head of PayMe Kerry Wong Chu Po-yin, the accelerated growth was driven by the ongoing pandemic and increasing bill settlements.

    We have seen above-average growth in registration and more active usage of PayMe over these few months of Covid-19 pandemic,” Wong said in an SCMP report. The increase is seen in settling of bills, including those related to online social games such as mahjong and poker.

    The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused significantly accelerated digital adoption in Asia across banks and client segments. It took PayMe 17 months to acquire its first million users but around eight months to achieve the second million.

    Need for digital access aside, the coronavirus pandemic has created a bankconstant demand for healthcare goods – some merchants with 15,000 to 40,000 transactions in a single day involving surgical face masks, according to Wong.

    «Our payment platform also helps start-ups and other businesses to accept payment easily,» she said. «Looking ahead, we will line up more big companies [such as utility providers].»

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  • HSBC Ordered to Restart and Deepen Overhaul

    HSBC Ordered to Restart and Deepen Overhaul

    The economically crippling coronavirus pandemic has driven HSBC’s board to push the British lender not only to restart the original overhaul strategy but also further deepen cost cuts.

    The ongoing health crisis has prompted the board to review the HSBC’s recent reorganization, according to a «Financial Times» report citing unnamed sources from the bank, and consider more drastic measures.

    The bank has been undergoing restructuring changes while concurrently attempting to retain most jobs. After announcing its plan to cut 35,000 jobs, $4.5 billion in costs and $100 billion in risk-weighted assets, HSBC announced a pause most of the job cuts while proceeding with its original plan «wherever possible»

    Intensified restructuring could potentially include more job cuts or a possible sale of its U.S. business, its retail network in France and operations in smaller non-strategic markets, the report added.

    A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment on the report.

    HSBC has been continuously facing a stampede of challenges after finally confirming its permanent chief executive Noel Quinn in March this year. Since then, the London-headquartered bank has faced social unrest in Hong Kong, a temporary pause to its plans to cut 35,000 jobs, a dividend cancellation fiasco and now a greater overhaul driven by the pandemic.

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