Many banks make bold claims about being global players. Few qualify. But with more than 5,000 offices in 80 countries, spread across the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia, HSBC is in the First division of globalization. As a bank that started life in Hong Kong in the 19th century it is not surprising that its long-established expertise and strong foundation in the developing world should stand it in good stead for this award.
HSBC receives the award, however, not for its glorious history but because of the continual build-up and exploitation of its emerging market presence. One of HSBC’s greatest qualities is that it has never stood still and never rested on its laurels.
The push for comprehensive coverage has come in different phases, and as recently as 1997 HSBC launched a major assault on Latin America with its acquisition of Bamerindus in Brazil and the Roberts Group in Argentina. The results of this strategy are now starting to come through, particularly in Brazil where turning around a bank as large as Bamerindus has required time and patience.
HSBC’s spiritual home is of course Asia and, even though this year it lost its title as best regional bank to Citibank, the bank retains a formidable presence there that it continues to develop. The bank has declared that 2000 is its year for “going home” to China which has proven a tough market for foreign banks with many restrictions. HSBC has nine branches in China with 800 staff and is able to make renminbi loans due to a Rnb3 billion line of credit from the Bank of China.
In Hong Kong, HSBC is the largest bank with 200 branches and is one of only three note-issuing banks, issuing 65% of all banknotes last year. In Thailand HSBC has agreed to acquire 75% of Bangkok Metropolitan Bank for $940 million, building on a presence that goes back to 1888. In fact, HSBC is the oldest foreign bank in Thailand.
In the Middle East HSBC bought British Bank of the Middle East (BBME) as far back as 1959.
Like HSBC, BBME has its origins in the 19th century. BBME started out as the Imperial Bank of Persia in Iran in 1989. Last year BBME changed its name to HSBC Bank Middle East in keeping with a policy of global branding. HSBC Bank Middle East is the largest international bank in the region with 31 branches in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Autonomous Area. As evidence of HSBC’s commitment to emerging markets the bank also has a branch in Baku, Azerbaijan.
HSBC has not neglected Europe and the US. In 1999 it bought Republic Bank of New York and in April said it was acquiring Crédit Commercial de France.
