Household HSBC Watch

HSBC’s plans include a dramatic expansion in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton. The bank has 43 branches in Ontario, of which 32 are in Toronto. Over the next 18 to 24 months, it wants to add another 20 in and around places such as Burlington, Mississauga and Aurora, at an average capital cost of a quarter-million dollars a branch. The goal, according to HSBC Canada CEO Lindsay Gordon, is to reach a “minimal critical mass” of locations that’ll convince customers at the Big Five banks to switch.

The expansion marks a strategy shift for a company that started up in Canada 25 years ago primarily to serve Western Canada’s Chinese community. Today, Mr. Gordon says Canada’s growth, driven by India and China’s demand for natural resources, is part of a long-term trend, one that HSBC hopes to cash in on.

The problem is, so does everyone else.