The culture that powers HongkongBank
An IO with a view
| HSBC Holdings comparison of principal subsidiaries, 1995 figures |
| Subsidiary |
Pre-tax profit (£m) |
Headcount |
Cost/income % |
|
HongkongBank |
1185 |
21953 |
40.2 |
|
Midland Bank |
998 |
43572 |
67.3 |
|
Hang Seng Bank |
740 |
7926 |
27.2 |
|
HSBC Americas |
225 |
8012 |
56.6 |
|
HongkongBank Canada |
79 |
3373 |
57.1 |
|
British Bank of the Middle East |
77 |
2397 |
<50 |
|
Other |
368 |
13837 |
N/A |
|
Group |
3672 |
101070 |
55.9 |
| Source:HSBC Holdings annual report |
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HongkongBank) is only a part of the London-based financial group HSBC Holdings. It has total assets of $368 billion and a return on average shareholder funds of 22.6%, making it one of the world's biggest financial groups. It is also the most profitable. The group is listed in London and also Hong Kong, where it constitutes 17% of the Hang Seng index. Over the past 25 years there has been 22% compound annual growth in the share price.
HongkongBank, as the table shows, is the single-biggest contributor to the group, although the largest contributor to the staff head count is the uk's Midland Bank, which was acquired in 1992. After the Midland acquisition the group moved its domicile from Hong Kong to London. The overall approach is a federal one. Each subsidiary has a large amount of autonomy for example, its own board and chief executive. The group's chairman, Sir William Purves, was previously HongkongBank's chairman.
The group's presence in the us hsbc Americas is principally through Marine Midland, a regional bank in New York State, which Midland acquired in 1980, but which is still not a major contributor to profit.
Its presence in the Middle East is principally through British Bank of the Middle East, which it bought in 1959, although hsbc Holdings also bought 40% of Saudi British Bank in 1982.
The group is also involved in investment banking through hsbc Markets, hsbc Investment Bank and James Capel. At the latest count there are 105,000 employees. In spite of its presence in 72 countries the group makes 56.6% of its profits in Asia. And Hong Kong remains the mainstay of profitability, providing 40% of group profits. The group has two subsidiaries in Hong Kong: the HongkongBank and Hang Seng Bank. The 61.51% controlling interest in Hang Seng was acquired in 1965 in a hk$50 million ($6.5 million) bank rescue this investment has since gone up 150,000%. Together with the Bank of China, HongkongBank/Hang Seng have about 60% of the colony's deposits, leading some to describe the competitive environment as benign.
Hong Kong remains a profitable location. Consumer loans are made at an average of 420 basis points above funding cost. And the average default rate on residential mortgages is a modest 0.2%.