HSBC exits private banking business in India

IANS 27 November 2015

Multinational banking major HSBC on Friday announced its decision to exit private banking business in India while offering its existing clients the HSBC Premier, a global retail banking and wealth management proposition.

There will be no loss of jobs because of the closure decision, said a bank spokesman.

"After strategic review of global private banking operations in India, we have decided to close down the business," the spokesman told IANS, adding HSBC will be closely working with its clients to minimise the impact of the decision on them.

The closure of private banking business is not related to the controversy of black money accounts of over 1,000 Indians in HSBC Geneva.

The spokesperson said HSBC is investing in its HSBC Premier product in India to enhance its range of products and services.

The organisation is silent on the size of portfolio handled by its private banking division in India or the number of people employed in the division.

HSBC now joins Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland in exiting the private banking space as a part of the business rejig process.

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Chandragupta Acharya

8 years ago

The reason for closing the business appears vague and unconvincing, though HSBC has clarified that this is not related to the now famous “HSBC list”. Bloomberg reports that this was a profit-making business, whereas the HSBC’s Retail and Wealth Management businesses in India are loss making. Since there would be no job losses, this is not a cost cutting exercise either. One may recall that Income Tax had conducted a “survey” of the bank in February this year, seized some documents and called senior executives for questioning. Though there was no follow up reporting about this in media later, given the notoriety of the bank in question, one wonders whether there is more to it than meets the eye.