HSBC Tuesday announced that it was planning to cut up to 25,000 jobs and sell units in Turkey and Brazil, as part of its “actions to capture value from [its] global presence in a changed world.”
Europe’s largest bank outlined 10 “strategic actions,” which also included reducing “risk-weighted assets” by at least 25%; redeploying assets to higher performing businesses; restoring profitability of its global banking and markets business; maintaining a presence in Brazil to serve large corporate clients’ international needs; setting up a “UK ring-fenced bank”; realizing $4.5 billion to $5 billion in cost savings by the end 2017; and capturing growth opportunities in Asia, particularly in the Pearl River Delta, as well as in asset management and insurance.
“The world is increasingly connected, with Asia expected to show high growth and become the center of global trade over the next decade,” HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver said in a press release. “I am confident that our actions will allow us to capture expected future growth opportunities and deliver further value to shareholders.”
“HSBC is a big bank to move and they’re definitely moving in the right direction,” Premier Fund Managers executive Chris White told Bloomberg.
HSBC has been hard hit by U.K. regulatory scrutiny, prompting the London-based company to consider relocating its headquarters.
“It would be a mistake that HSBC flees the country,” Bill Blain, a strategist at Mint Partners, reportedly said in an interview with Jonathan Ferro on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “This is actually a pretty good place for banks to be.”