HSBC's top executives are facing intense pressure from shareholders who want them to consider splitting up the bank's Asian business. The lender's strategy is under fire as investors point out that its European operations are dragging down profits.
At an informal shareholder meeting in Hong Kong, HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn faced tough questions on their approach. They defended their strategy, saying it was working and dividends were being increased. However, they acknowledged that the bank's Asian business is its main source of profit and that some investors think it should be separated from the rest of the bank.
Shareholders in Hong Kong are unhappy with HSBC's scrapping of dividends in 2020 at the request of British regulators. They argue that if the lender separates its Asian business, it would no longer have to expose Hong Kong shareholders to requests in other jurisdictions.
HSBC is facing pressure from its largest shareholder, Ping An, which holds an 8% stake in the bank and has backed calls for a restructuring. However, Ping An's views haven't changed since last November, when its chairman said that the insurer would support any initiatives that could improve HSBC's performance and value.
The lender's acquisition of SVB UK is also under scrutiny. Critics question how quickly the deal was made and whether due diligence was carried out properly on the customers of SVB UK.
HSBC's top executives pushed back on these concerns, saying that the acquisition was a good business opportunity that allowed the bank to gain hundreds of innovative startups as customers. They said they did not expect an "immediate impact" from recent turmoil in the banking industry and believed that such developments represented a systemic risk to the sector.
However, shareholders remain skeptical about HSBC's strategy and are likely to continue pushing for a breakup of its Asian business. The lender's leadership is under pressure to deliver results and reassure investors that their concerns are being addressed.
At an informal shareholder meeting in Hong Kong, HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn faced tough questions on their approach. They defended their strategy, saying it was working and dividends were being increased. However, they acknowledged that the bank's Asian business is its main source of profit and that some investors think it should be separated from the rest of the bank.
Shareholders in Hong Kong are unhappy with HSBC's scrapping of dividends in 2020 at the request of British regulators. They argue that if the lender separates its Asian business, it would no longer have to expose Hong Kong shareholders to requests in other jurisdictions.
HSBC is facing pressure from its largest shareholder, Ping An, which holds an 8% stake in the bank and has backed calls for a restructuring. However, Ping An's views haven't changed since last November, when its chairman said that the insurer would support any initiatives that could improve HSBC's performance and value.
The lender's acquisition of SVB UK is also under scrutiny. Critics question how quickly the deal was made and whether due diligence was carried out properly on the customers of SVB UK.
HSBC's top executives pushed back on these concerns, saying that the acquisition was a good business opportunity that allowed the bank to gain hundreds of innovative startups as customers. They said they did not expect an "immediate impact" from recent turmoil in the banking industry and believed that such developments represented a systemic risk to the sector.
However, shareholders remain skeptical about HSBC's strategy and are likely to continue pushing for a breakup of its Asian business. The lender's leadership is under pressure to deliver results and reassure investors that their concerns are being addressed.
It's not like HSBC has to expose Hong Kong shareholders to all these headaches. And what's up with this acquisition of SVB UK? 
It seems like a hasty decision that might've been made in a rush... did they even do their due diligence? Ping An is backing the restructuring, but I'm still not convinced. 
. But I get why shareholders wanna know more about what's gonna happen with that business... transparency is key, you know? 
. The execs are trying to tell us they're making good moves to boost innovation and growth... SVB UK was a sweet deal that brought in some awesome startups 
.
. The bank's got to be transparent about its strategy and how it's working out for them 
... can't just sweep all this under the rug!
... I need to see more information about how due diligence was done on those customers. It sounds like a pretty big risk, but no one's talking about what kind of safeguards were put in place.
it's like they're trying to hold on to something thats clearly dragging them down financially 
and all these shareholders wanting a split is not entirely unreasonable 
but come on hsbc ceo noel quinn dont try to spin this as some good business opportunity 
the whole acquisition of svb UK thing just smells fishy 
... it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. But hey, at least they got some cool startups out of it, right? 
[GIF: Person throwing hands up in the air] 
They're tired of HSBC's Asian business being like that one aunt who won't leave 
. Ping An is like "I gotchu, bro" but still not convinced 
. It's been 5 years since they scrapped those dividends in Hong Kong and it's still been a bit of a bummer for some investors 
.
and dragging down the rest of the bank's profits. I mean, can't they just separate the two businesses already? It's like, a no-brainer 
.