If HSBC did decide that acquisition was the correct strategy, the US is the likeliest hunting ground. With more than $6 trillion invested in pension funds and mutual funds it is the biggest market in the world. Duggins and Guidone admit their presence there is insignificant. One US consultant says: “In seven years HSBC has not come across my radar screen once.”
Guidone says that the firm now favours a strategic alliance in the US “rather than a flat-out acquisition”.
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