Bye-bye HSBC? Bank is eyeing a move abroad
HSBC will look into upping sticks and moving its headquarters out of London once the regulatory environment becomes clearer, its chairman said yesterday.
“We are beginning to see the final shape of regulation, the final shape of structural reform and as soon as that mist lifts sufficiently we will once again start to look at where the best place for HSBC is,” Douglas Flint said in Hong Kong.
Flint’s comments come as a hike in the special tax levied on banks in the UK makes it increasingly costly to do business.
Before the meeting, many had said that they wanted management to look into relocating to Asia.
The news follows its decision in March to relocate 1,000 head office jobs to Birmingham as part of measures due to be introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority meaning banks must “ring-fence” their retail and business banking arms.
HSBC’s UK chief executive said Birmingham is “close to London, but also brings us within easy reach of our… customers based across the UK”.
The bank’s annual general meeting will take place on Friday.