Where is hsbc domiciled

His administration might rationalise some of the myriad measures taken by its predecessor and bring some coherency to the trade and other sanctions Trump imposed, but the anti-China sentiment in the US is shared by Democrats and Republicans.

Any success in enlisting the Europeans, in particular, to the effort to contain China will only exacerbate the pressures on HSBC. At face value, the choice for the bank might appear straightforward. Its Hong Kong and China operations are the core of its earnings and value. Its businesses in Europe, the US and elsewhere have always been weaker contributors and have exposed it to massive fines for money-laundering, breaches of sanctions and other misbehaviours.

It could retreat to Hong Kong and China and sell, shut down or spin off its other operations, but that would end its global aspirations, turn its back on more than years of financing international trade and risk it becoming just another Chinese bank, possibly ending up state-owned. China has, reportedly, run the numbers on acquiring it several times in the past. HSBC has survived existential threats throughout its history and shown that it can usually find a way to walk both sides of a treacherous path.

Unless tensions between the US and China — and the West and China — abate, however, this period might produce the most threatening moment of all. Start the day with major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion from our leading business journalists delivered to your inbox. Sign up here. Pay based on use. Does my organisation subscribe? Group Subscription. Premium Digital access, plus: Convenient access for groups of users Integration with third party platforms and CRM systems Usage based pricing and volume discounts for multiple users Subscription management tools and usage reporting SAML-based single sign-on SSO Dedicated account and customer success teams.

Learn more and compare subscriptions content expands above. Full Terms and Conditions apply to all Subscriptions. Or, if you are already a subscriber Sign in. Other options. Since the pro-democracy protests erupted in , Beijing has systematically dismantled the liberties enjoyed by residents of the former British colony. Dozens of democracy activists have been arrested. She denies the charges and is fighting extradition. Huawei declined to comment. As Reuters reported in February , the U.

Invitations to HSBC from borrowers to pitch for new business started to dry up, according to one senior executive at the bank and another source at a competing bank who attends pitch meetings. The senior HSBC executive, as well as a second senior banker in Hong Kong, said they were later told by colleagues in mainland China that in the wake of the Huawei case, the Chinese government had asked state firms to report any business ties they had with HSBC.

At Beijing-based Sinohydro Corporation Ltd. A senior deals manager with authority to select banks at Shanghai Electric Group Co. After reading about the Huawei case in official media, the deals manager grew concerned that company records could be handed over to U.

The fallout intensified in the second half of as the protests swamped Hong Kong, where HSBC has about 30, employees.

That summer, hundreds of thousands of people marched through the city, some chanting insults at the Chinese Communist Party. Demonstrations turned violent.

HSBC bankers, including the two senior executives, told Reuters that Chinese regulators and clients began to ask where the bank and its employees stood politically. One former senior HSBC banker recounted a meeting in Beijing in September with the chief financial officer of a large state-owned insurer. The bank was soon facing a new challenge. Influential former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying released a blistering attack on the bank on Facebook.

He declined to be interviewed for this story. Standard Chartered also publicly backed the law. Standard Chartered declined to comment for this story.