HSBC's top executives faced intense scrutiny from shareholders in Hong Kong on Monday as the bank's largest market continued to grapple with calls for its Asian business to be spun off.
Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn defended the bank's strategy, which has seen a significant increase in dividends in recent years. However, they also acknowledged that the bank's performance has been dragged down by underperformance in other regions.
Shareholders have been pressing HSBC to separate its Asian business from the rest of the bank, citing concerns that this would improve the lender's overall performance and value for shareholders. The proposal would require 75% of votes to be passed at the annual general meeting in May.
HSBC has been facing pressure from its largest shareholder, Ping An Insurance Group, which holds an 8% stake in the bank. The Chinese insurer has backed calls for HSBC to rethink its structure and is reportedly supportive of any initiatives that could boost its stock performance or value.
The bank's acquisition of SVB UK, a British unit of US-based Silicon Valley Bank, also raised questions about due diligence. Critics have questioned whether HSBC looked into the clients' financial statements before completing the deal.
HSBC's leaders denied that they did not carry out proper due diligence on SVB UK's customers. CEO Noel Quinn described the acquisition as a good business opportunity that allowed the bank to gain hundreds of innovative startups as customers.
The banking sector is currently experiencing turmoil, with several smaller regional banks collapsing and Credit Suisse being taken over by a Swiss-based entity. However, HSBC's executives believe this does not represent a systemic risk to the sector.
Despite these challenges, HSBC's top executives remain confident in their strategy and are urging shareholders to vote against the proposal to separate its Asian business.
Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn defended the bank's strategy, which has seen a significant increase in dividends in recent years. However, they also acknowledged that the bank's performance has been dragged down by underperformance in other regions.
Shareholders have been pressing HSBC to separate its Asian business from the rest of the bank, citing concerns that this would improve the lender's overall performance and value for shareholders. The proposal would require 75% of votes to be passed at the annual general meeting in May.
HSBC has been facing pressure from its largest shareholder, Ping An Insurance Group, which holds an 8% stake in the bank. The Chinese insurer has backed calls for HSBC to rethink its structure and is reportedly supportive of any initiatives that could boost its stock performance or value.
The bank's acquisition of SVB UK, a British unit of US-based Silicon Valley Bank, also raised questions about due diligence. Critics have questioned whether HSBC looked into the clients' financial statements before completing the deal.
HSBC's leaders denied that they did not carry out proper due diligence on SVB UK's customers. CEO Noel Quinn described the acquisition as a good business opportunity that allowed the bank to gain hundreds of innovative startups as customers.
The banking sector is currently experiencing turmoil, with several smaller regional banks collapsing and Credit Suisse being taken over by a Swiss-based entity. However, HSBC's executives believe this does not represent a systemic risk to the sector.
Despite these challenges, HSBC's top executives remain confident in their strategy and are urging shareholders to vote against the proposal to separate its Asian business.
. They've been doin' alright, makin' some decent dividends and all 
. And yeah, maybe the Asian biz isn't shinin' as bright as they thought, but that's not a reason to cut it loose entirely 
. I mean, have you seen their balance sheet? It's still lookin' pretty solid 
. And what about all those startups they got after buyin' SVB UK? That's gotta count for somethin' 
! I think Mark Tucker and Noel Quinn know what they're doin', and they should be trusted to make some tough decisions 
. Let's not rush into anything just 'cause one part of the business isn't killin' it 
. First, they're pushing for this huge spin-off deal that would basically gut their Asian operations, but only because it's not performing well... yeah, because that's exactly what you do when something's not working - just spin it off and hope it magically fixes itself 
. And now they're trying to brush off the SVB UK acquisition drama like it never happened 
. Newsflash: due diligence is hard, and sometimes mistakes happen. Can't we just expect a little more transparency from these big banks for once? 
. And what's with all these due diligence questions about SVB UK? I mean, come on, you can't just gloss over red flags and expect everything to be okay 
. The banking sector is already struggling, and HSBC is still raking in the dividends... maybe it's time for them to take a step back and re-evaluate their priorities 
Still, I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens at the AGM in May... fingers crossed that shareholders will speak up for a change 
... I mean, I get it, HSBC wants to focus on its Asian business, but do they really need to spin off from the rest of the bank? 
, banks were more stable and didn't have all these crazy acquisitions and whatnot. I guess times are changing and we need to adapt 
... Still, 75% of shareholder votes needed for this? That's a lot 
? Anyway, Ping An Insurance Group is backing the proposal – that makes sense I suppose 
! I mean, come on, 8% of Ping An Insurance Group is like, major stakeholder right? They know what's up for HSBC. And let's be real, the bank's been struggling with underperformance elsewhere. Separating the Asian biz would be a huge boost to their overall performance and shareholder value 
. The due diligence on SVB UK was sketchy at best, so yeah, that's definitely something to investigate further 
.
the proposal is just a load of nonsense anyway we need more innovation in banking not less 
and btw ping an insurance group is such a great shareholder i love how they're supporting hsbc's strategy 
Credit Suisse being taken over is bad news, btw, and smaller regional banks collapsing isn't exactly reassuring 
, hsbc's situation is just so overwhelming right now 
. i get that some shareholders want them to spin off their asian business, but isn't that just gonna leave them with a bunch of other problems to deal with? 
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