HSBC adds Austria to growing franchise in Central and Eastern Europe

20 August 2008

HSBC today confirmed the launch of its global asset management business in Austria. Located in Vienna, the office of HSBC Global Asset Management focuses on marketing the full range of HSBC funds and relationship management services and is the latest illustration of the Group's intent to strengthen its franchise across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and parts of Central Asia.

Since the beginning of the year, HSBC has rapidly increased its activities throughout the region, adding experienced new personnel as well as expanding its presence organically in a number of countries:

March

• Announces US$200m of new capital to fund expansion in Russia
• Stuart Lawson appointed new Russia CEO

April

• PFS business launched in Czech Republic

June

• HSBC opens for business in Georgia with new flagship premises in Tbilisi
• Poland becomes 39th country to roll-out HSBC Premier

July

• HSBC establishes its first branch in Kazakhstan capital, Astana
• Career bankers Simon Jukes and Arjan van den Berkmortel take helm as CEOs of HSBC in Greece and Czech Republic

August

• Launch of HSBC Global Asset Management in Austria confirmed

HSBC's willingness to devote significant resources to the region has been well documented in numerous comments from its senior executives:

On Austria: "We are convinced of the enormous potential of the Austrian market." [Heiner Weber, Managing Director of HSBC Global Asset Management, Germany, 20 August 2008] 

On Kazakhstan: "As Kazakhstan develops, so will appetite for increasingly sophisticated banking products and services, something that HSBC is very well placed to provide." [Tony Mahoney, Head of International, HSBC Bank plc, 16 July 2008]

On Czech Republic: "I'm looking forward to growing the business by maximising cross-selling opportunities and leveraging HSBC's unique international network in over 80 countries and territories." [Arjan van den Berkmortel, CEO HSBC Bank plc Czech Republic, 23 July 2008]

On Greece: "Greece is an exciting market for us and the appointment of Simon Jukes as CEO is a sign of the importance we place on growing our business there." [Tony Mahoney, Head of International, HSBC Bank plc, 9 July 2008]

On Poland: "We estimate there are more than 200 million mass affluent consumers in the world, of which 500,000 live and work in Poland." [Guy Hamilton, Head of Central and Eastern Europe, HSBC Bank plc, 25 June 2008]

On Russia: "Russia, along with the other BRIC countries is a key strategic focus for the Group." [Stephen Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc, 12 March 2008]

In its recent first half results, HSBC's profits before tax in Europe rose 28 per cent to US$5.2bn, over 50 per cent of entire Group profits. Assets stood at over US$1.3trn some 51.5 per cent of the total.

Earlier in the year, HSBC jumped two places to top the latest Forbes 2000 list of the world's largest companies, the first time a non-US company has led the rankings since its launch in 2004, while in July the bank jumped from third to first place in the latest annual Banker magazine survey of the world's top one thousand banks. HSBC is the first non-US company in nine years to lead the survey and tops the rankings by virtue of its Tier 1 capital and profit before tax, which last year reached a new high

Media enquiries:
Neil Brazil
+44 20 7992 1572
neilbrazil@hsbc.com 

The HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from more than 9,500 offices in 85 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,547 billion at 30 June 2008, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as 'the world's local bank'.