In an environment where large corporates demand more consistency, insight and speed, HSBC delivered on all fronts in 2024, combining global reach, deep product capabilities and a reimagined approach to coverage.
From its new coverage model and onboarding transformation to landmark transactions and innovations in liquidity and trade finance, HSBC stood out as the partner of choice for large corporates.
The most significant strategic shift at HSBC in 2024 was the creation of a simplified and integrated approach to corporate and institutional banking, unifying global and commercial banking teams to eliminate silos and improve consistency.
“By its very design, the CIB business is making us a more simple, agile and aligned organisation,” says Michael Roberts, CEO of HSBC Bank plc and CEO of Corporate and Institutional Banking. “Our payments and trade divisions are core parts of our business, so we have given them greater autonomy and visibility. We’ve also created distinct client groups for large corporates, institutional clients and internationally focused mid-market firms – all under one global framework.”
This organisational shift delivered measurable results. HSBC significantly reduced onboarding times for large corporate clients and improved KYC processes and service responsiveness, a direct response to one of the industry’s most persistent pain points.
International footprint
HSBC’s international footprint remains one of its defining strengths. Present in more than 50 markets and with over 160 years of history in Asia and Europe, the bank helps local and global clients access international opportunities with confidence.
“Our international footprint isn’t just a fact, it’s a capability,” says Jo Miyake, head of banking for Asia and Middle East in the CIB division. “Sixty-two percent of our revenues come from clients we bank in multiple jurisdictions and most of that activity happens outside their home market.”
Innovation in action
2024 was also a standout year for innovation. “We are proud of our innovation journey, which accelerated in 2024, having successfully launched a number of market-leading propositions for our clients,” says Manish Kohli, head of global payments solutions. “Amongst many new solutions, I am particularly proud of our best-in-class liquidity management solution that allows our customers to dynamically monitor and manage their liquidity across the world in real time – essential at a time when resilience and capital preservation are front and centre for global businesses.”
The bank also re-entered the merchant acquiring space in Hong Kong with a fully digital stack, launched the award-winning SmartTransact onboarding solution in multiple markets and saw strong adoption of commercial virtual cards.
Commercial cards were another area of innovation. “We’ve converted a significant share of that business to virtual cards and won several large deals by showing clients how these can transform procurement and payments,” Roberts notes.
As corporates adapt to new trade corridors, invest in digital infrastructure and rethink liquidity, HSBC has positioned itself as the bank built for what comes next
As trade flows reoriented in response to shifting tariffs and supply chain restructuring, HSBC further deepened its role as the world’s trade bank. TradePay, the bank’s flagship digital trade solution, proved to be one of the most impactful tools for corporates. “We’ve digitised all of our trade business and built a global platform that is now almost complete,” Roberts says. “But we’ve gone further, investing heavily in structured working capital solutions – helping clients unlock value across suppliers, buyers and inventory.”
“What makes us unique is how we are innovating at scale,” says Vivek Ramachandran, head of global trade solutions. “TradePay wasn’t just built for one client – it now supports nearly $8 billion in limits, across thousands of large corporates globally. And we repurposed it quickly to help clients manage US tariffs, showing our agility in a challenging trade environment.”
Beyond product innovation, HSBC’s ability to bank entire ecosystems, not just individual corporates but their suppliers and partners, gave it an edge in delivering resilient and sustainable finance across the supply chain.
Enabling strategic growth
HSBC was behind some of the year’s most significant corporate transactions. “Our longstanding relationship with Alibaba culminated in a landmark moment in May 2024,” explains Miyake. “We supported their debut $5 billion convertible bond, the largest ever from an Asia issuer and the largest standalone CB globally. That trust extended through the year with the largest offshore Chinese yuan bond offering in history.”
The bank also provided committed financing facilities for DSV’s €14.3 billion acquisition of Schenker, the largest logistics deal globally and the biggest European acquisition financing since 2022.
HSBC expanded its role as a strategic adviser throughout 2024, particularly through its Treasury Solutions Group. The bank delivered over 50 treasury transformation engagements, published multiple thought leadership pieces and partnered with leading consultancies to support clients entering new markets and navigating regulatory complexity.
Internally, HSBC upskilled its frontline teams with hundreds of interactive training modules to enhance advisory capabilities – improving the quality and relevance of client conversations at senior finance and treasury levels.
The bank also leveraged its convening power through the Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong. In 2024, HSBC brought together 2,750 attendees and hosted 5,000 meetings between clients and investors. In 2025, the event expanded even further, demonstrating HSBC’s ability to connect global capital and corporate leadership at scale.
A model for the client’s future
As corporates adapt to new trade corridors, invest in digital infrastructure and rethink liquidity, HSBC has positioned itself as the bank built for what comes next.
“Our role is to be the leading global corporate institution – for companies that need a bank with reach, resilience and reliability,” says Roberts. “That means supporting clients not just with products, but with the full force of our network, insights and people. We’ve built CIB to deliver that in an agile and global way.”
