HSBC already has a growing corporate and investment banking business in Russia and an office there, but obtaining the license is a key step toward becoming the first British lender to build a retail presence in Russia.
After a decade building up its business in Latin America, the world’s third-largest bank has more recently turned its attention to fast-growing banking markets in eastern Europe and in Russia, where HSBC, like its British peers, has lagged continental European rivals.

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A fund backed by the government of the United Arab Emirates has snapped up an estimated £500m stake in HSBC, becoming the second Gulf-based investor to regard the shares of Britain’s biggest bank as undervalued.
An investment arm of Dubai Investment Capital (DIC) has taken a “substantial” stake in HSBC through a new fund which aims to target international companies.

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