Did HSBC’s purchase of predatory lender Household International have an effect on perceptions of HSBC? Household – HSBC Watch says it is is possible as they report a 600 percent increase in visitors from Asia and the Pacific Rim.
March 21 (Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc, the biggest corporate lender in the Asia-Pacific region as recently as 2003, is falling behind competitors led by Citigroup Inc. in the world’s fastest-growing loan market. Founded as Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. in 1865, HSBC arranged $8.1 billion of loans for Asian companies outside Japan since the start of last year, 40 percent less than Citigroup, data compiled by Bloomberg show. New York-based Citigroup’s biggest grab for market share came in the Pacific Rim where it provided credits for Westfield Group in Sydney, the world’s No. 1 owner of shopping malls, among dozens of borrowers in the region.
Asia-Pacific companies last year borrowed about $120 billion, the most since at least 1998, amid the lowest global interest rates in more than 40 years, Bloomberg data show. Australia accounted for almost 40 percent of the region’s loans, while corporate borrowing in Hong Kong represented 13 percent, the lowest in more than six years.
“Outside of Hong Kong, HSBC is trailing the domestic banks, which dominate the local markets.” said Paul Smith, 44, a former member of Deutsche Bank AG’s loan syndication team in Hong Kong, who has worked in Asia’s debt capital markets for 20 years. “Hong Kong is definitely HSBC’s strongest market in the region and that market was relatively subdued last year.”
Popularity: 6% [?]
Related posts:
