HSBC Holdings plc

Is HSBC a British or Chinese bank?
HSBC Holdings plc is a British bank, incorporated in England and headquartered in London since 1993. It was founded in Hong Kong in 1865 and generates most of its profit in Asia. The dual identity is deliberate: the bank is regulated in the UK but describes Hong Kong and mainland China as its core markets.

What stock exchanges is HSBC listed on?
HSBC has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange under ticker HSBA, where it is a FTSE 100 constituent. It also lists on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code 5), the New York Stock Exchange as an ADR (HSBC), and the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

Who is the CEO of HSBC?
Georges Elhedery has been Group Chief Executive since September 2024. A Lebanese banker who joined HSBC in 2005, he previously led the Global Banking and Markets division and served as Group CFO. He launched a major reorganization effective January 2025 that condensed the bank into four global businesses.

What was HSBC's revenue in 2025?
HSBC reported revenue of $68.3 billion for fiscal year 2025, up 4 percent from 2024. Profit before tax was $29.9 billion, down 7 percent due to $4.9 billion in notable items including the BoCom impairment and legal provisions. Excluding notable items, profit before tax rose to $36.6 billion.

Does HSBC still operate in the United States?
HSBC maintains a wholesale and institutional banking presence in the United States through HSBC North America Holdings, but it sold its US retail banking branches to Citizens Bank and Cathay Bank in 2022. US retail customers were transferred as part of the bank's pivot toward Asia.

Why did HSBC move its headquarters to London?
HSBC moved its holding company headquarters from Hong Kong to London in 1993 following the 1992 acquisition of Midland Bank. The move created a holding company structure acceptable to UK regulators ahead of Hong Kong's 1997 handover to China.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was founded in Hong Kong in March 1865 by Thomas Sutherland, a Scottish banker working for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Sutherland saw an opportunity to finance growing trade between China, India, and Europe. The bank opened branches in Shanghai one month after its founding and in London shortly after.

Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the bank expanded across Asia and became the principal banker to the Hong Kong government. It issued banknotes, financed railway and infrastructure projects, and survived two world wars, including a period during World War II when its headquarters temporarily relocated to London after the fall of Hong Kong.

Postwar growth accelerated through acquisition. HSBC took a controlling stake in Hang Seng Bank in 1965 after a bank run. In 1980 it acquired a 51 percent stake in Marine Midland Bank of New York, gaining full ownership in 1987. The pivotal move came in 1992, when HSBC completed the acquisition of Midland Bank in the United Kingdom, one of the largest banking acquisitions in history at the time. The holding company HSBC Holdings plc was created in 1991 and the group headquarters moved from Hong Kong to London in 1993.

The 2000s brought aggressive expansion. HSBC acquired Household International, a US consumer finance company, in 2003 for $14.8 billion. The acquisition exposed the bank to the US subprime mortgage market, and HSBC posted heavy losses during the 2008 financial crisis, though it avoided a government bailout. In 2012, the bank paid $1.9 billion to settle US charges that it had laundered money for drug cartels and violated sanctions, one of the largest banking penalties in US history.

Under CEO Stuart Gulliver and later Noel Quinn, HSBC pivoted toward Asia, exiting retail banking in the United States and France and announcing plans to increase investment in wealth management and Asian markets. The bank completed the sale of its Canadian business to Royal Bank of Canada in 2024 and sold its Argentine operations. Georges Elhedery became Group CEO in September 2024 and reorganized the bank into four businesses effective January 2025, while cutting senior management layers and exiting parts of its Western investment banking operations, including M&A advisory and equity capital markets in the UK, Europe, and the Americas.

HSBC has committed to achieving net zero in its own operations and supply chain by 2030 and in its financed emissions by 2050, aligned with its membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which it joined in 2021. The bank has published interim financed emissions targets for carbon-intensive sectors including oil and gas, power and utilities, cement, iron and steel, aluminium, aviation, automotive, and thermal coal mining.

The bank has faced criticism from environmental groups over its continued financing of fossil fuel companies, and from some investors for moving too quickly in the other direction. In 2022, a senior executive was suspended after publicly questioning the financial risks of climate change at a conference. HSBC's current policy commits to phasing down financing of thermal coal in OECD markets by 2030 and globally by 2040.

HSBC also funds community programs in education, employability, and disaster relief through the HSBC Group charitable giving. The bank reports progress against its ESG targets annually in its Annual Report and ESG disclosures.

HSBC has faced significant regulatory scrutiny over the past two decades.

Money laundering settlement (2012): HSBC paid $1.9 billion to US authorities and entered a deferred prosecution agreement after admitting its US and Mexican units laundered at least $881 million for drug cartels and violated sanctions against Iran, Cuba, Sudan, and other countries. A monitor oversaw compliance improvements through 2017.

Forex and benchmark manipulation: The bank has paid fines related to foreign exchange trading misconduct, including a 2024 fine from South Korean regulators and earlier US and UK penalties as part of the $10 billion global forex rigging settlements of 2014 and 2015.

Geopolitical tension: HSBC has drawn criticism from Western politicians for supporting the Hong Kong national security law and freezing accounts of pro-democracy figures, and from Chinese state media for cooperating with US investigations, including the Huawei case against Meng Wanzhou. This position between its two largest markets remains a structural risk to the business.

2025 notable items: The bank recorded $1.4 billion in legal provisions in 2025, covering historical matters including the Bernard Madoff fraud litigation in Luxembourg.