HSBC to close New Zealand wealth and personal banking business

HSBC has decided to wind down its wealth and personal banking business in New Zealand, the bank said on Tuesday, as it exits from less profitable businesses globally to focus on expanding in certain Asian markets.

The process, as a result of a strategic review, will happen over several years in a phased manner, it said in a statement.

The London-headquartered lender can “no longer justify investing into this business given the changing operating requirements in the market and scalability of the business”, it said.

The decision comes after the bank last year said it was reviewing its retail banking business in the market with a view to selling it.

New Zealand is the latest market on the map the London and Hong Kong dual-listed bank decided to withdraw from.

Europe’s largest lender is reviewing a possible exit from about one in five of the markets it operates in to sharpen its focus on Asian expansion, chief financial officer Georges Elhedery told Reuters in May.

Its pivot to Asia has already triggered planned sales of its businesses in France, Greece, Russia and Canada.

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