According to two persons with knowledge of the situation, HSBC is planning to purchase Citigroup’s China consumer wealth management company, which oversees more than $3 billion in assets. This will significantly expand the London-based bank’s operations in that nation.
One of the sources reportedly stated that “a few hundreds” of Citi’s employees who work in China will be transferred to Asia-focused HSBC as part of the transaction, the financial terms of which were not immediately disclosed.
The two sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to speak to the media, claimed that the agreement may be revealed as early as next month.
Citi and HSBC chose not to comment.
As the largest lender in Europe pledges to leave less lucrative regions in order to concentrate on Asia, its main source of revenue, the acquisition adds to a litany of steps taken by HSBC to develop in China, one of its core markets.
In the second-largest economy in the world, Citi’s wealth management activities in China, which are a component of the retail banking division it has been planning to exit since 2021, mostly cater to mass affluent consumers.
According to the first source, the bank’s private banking services, which serve high net worth Chinese clients from places outside of China, are still available. Citi is now submitting an application to open a securities brokerage business in China.
As part of a strategy to exit consumer franchises in 14 regions throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico, Citi announced in December that it was looking to sell some of its portfolios as it shut down its China retail banking operation.
Citi is in the midst of shutting down its South Korean unit in Asia, and it intends to finish handing over its Indonesian operations to UOB Group. It finished selling and relocating its Taiwan consumer businesses in August.
In the past, HSBC provided nannies for bankers in India for up to six years. For a year after their maternity leave expires, new mothers are permitted to work from home at Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley.
In an effort to recruit and keep female employees, international financial businesses are increasing maternity benefits across India to include perks rarely seen elsewhere. One of the lowest percentages in the world, less than a quarter of adult women in India are employed.
