Potential regulatory flight and lower taxes may be behind HSBC’s move from London to Hong Kong. This appeared in Business Insider:
…[W]e have yet another sign of potential regulatory flight, this time to Asia.
HSBC says that chief executive Michael Geoghegan will relocate to Hong Kong from London. London’s venerable HSBC wants to run the company from the bank’s “largest and most important region.”
Still, one has to wonder whether the move might also have something to do with pay as well. Hong Kong provides far lower income taxes for high-earners, plus less regulatory risk when it comes to executive pay regulation. HSBC’s CEO will have far less to worry about and we believe could earn more on the same base pay as a Hong Kong resident. (We assume this is what they mean by “relocate”)
Read the entire article and decide for yourself. HSBC’s CEO spoke openly about big bonuses and responsibility. We will see how this plays out.
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