HSBC plans to sell its Canadian business


HSBC HLDGS.

HSBC plans to sell its operations in Canada | Photo credits: Canadian Pacific / Creative Commons

LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) – HSBC is considering selling its Canadian business, a spokesman said on Tuesday for the British bank as it seeks to boost profitability under pressure from its biggest shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An.

“We are currently reviewing our strategic options with respect to our subsidiary in Canada,” the bank said in a statement.

This strategic review is still in its infancy and no decision has been taken, but one of the options considered is the sale of 100% of the capital of HSBC Bank Canada, said the spokesperson.

The group refused to comment on the potential valuation of the company but its assets amounted to 125 billion dollars (126.4 billion euros) at the end of June and its equity to 5.8 billion dollars, according to the latest financial results.

HSBC could reap around $7 billion to $8 billion from a full divestiture of its Canadian subsidiary, given the premium buyers would have to pay.

This transaction would be the last sale in a series at HSBC. The bank announced in May 2021 its withdrawal from retail banking in the United States, then a month later the sale of its retail activities in France as part of a strategy aimed at increasing its profits and fending off demands. of Ping An to split its activities in Asia.

HSBC Canada is the country’s seventh-largest bank by assets, according to Refinitiv data, and the largest international player in a market dominated by domestic institutions. (Lawrence White report, French version Laetitia Volga, edited by Kate Entringer)





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