A crackdown on current account penalty charges could slash the cost of banking for millions of customers. The Office of Fair Trading is telling banks and building societies they must follow guidelines on excessive charging for some services or face a formal investigation. This follows the OFT’s ruling that penalty charges of up to £25 on credit card customers who pay bills late or exceeded credit limits were unfair and excessive.
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Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) — Growing Chinese companies will seek to buy those in the U.S., which is a “natural and desirable” action because the U.S. needs to attract investment from abroad, said the chairman of HSBC Holdings Plc’s Asia unit. “It is natural and desirable Chinese companies acquire assets in the U.S.,” Vincent Cheng, chairman of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp., said in a speech today at the Asia Society in New York. “America should be flattered.” HSBC Asia Chairman Says Takeovers of U.S. Companies `Natural’
Several acquisition attempts by Chinese companies have fallen through, including Cnooc Ltd.’s $18.5 billion bid for Unocal Corp. earlier this year, because of opposition from some U.S. lawmakers who saw the offer as a bid by China to compete for energy resources. In 2003, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. scrapped a plan to buy Global Crossing Ltd. because of a U.S. national security review. Not every purchase has flopped. Lenovo Group Ltd., China’s largest personal computer maker, bought International Business Machines Corp.’s personal computer division this year for $1.25 billion.
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“We are in the process of rolling out what we call the Household Model based on sophisticated data-intensive analysis that is rapidly scalable, offering customised solutions. Using a common technology platform that is tailored to local requirements, various financial solutions are provided” said Niall Booker of HSBC. The Chief Executive Officer of HSBC, Niall Booker, said a bank typically leverages the potential of an economy in which it operates. Therefore, for HSBC, the challenge is to select better performing economies.
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Talk that HSBC Holdings (HBC) is about to bid for Bear Stearns (BSC) is highly unlikely, says Mark Thomas at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. HSBC has said its days of strategic acquisitions are over, and “in terms of geographies, products, and skill base, it’s difficult to see what Bear Stearns could add to what HSBC can grow organically,” he says. HSBC and Bear Stearns not immediately available to comment. HSBC +1% at 905.50p. (NHL)
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SEOUL (Dow Jones)–U.K-based banking giant HSBC Holding Plc.(HBC) denied Thursday a local newspaper report that it may soon sign a memorandum of understanding to buy a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (004940.SE), held by U.S.-based private equity investment company Lone Star Fund. The Korea Times reported Thursday, citing an unnamed executive at HSBC, that the bank is in talks with Lone Star and plans to hold a press conference in Seoul next month to unveil its business strategies, which could include the purchase of the Korean bank.
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