HSBC Holdings Plc is one of the biggest organizations in the world (in early 2006 it held the second place in the world by capital stock) providing banking and financial services. It was founded by Scot Thomas Sutherland in 1865 in Hong Kong for the aim of conducting operations in Asia and financing the increasing trade between Europe and China. Initially it bore the name of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Nowadays, headquarter of the Group is located in London (before 1991 it had been headquartered in Hong Kong). In early 2006, the capital of the group made up $74,4 billion (2nd place in the world) and assets that of $1,5 trillion (4th place in the world). Revenues in 2005 made up $61,7 billion.
Main office of HSBC Bank USA, N.A. is located in Wilmington, Delaware. It has approximately 400 branches in New York State, branch networks in California, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and one branch each in Washington, D.C., Washington State and Oregon. HSBC Bank USA is the main subsidiary of HSBC USA Inc.
HSBC carries out its banking activities in all directions including asset management, settlement operations, project financing and others. It has long ago established and nowadays successfully conducts its activities in the countries of Europe, Asia-Pacific region, North and South America, Middle East and Africa (in total 76 countries of the world). In each of these regions, HSBC essentially operates as a local bank working with large and medium local enterprises, as well as International companies – the global clients of the group. Each of the local offices has a vast base of deposits of physical persons, sound liquidity and good index of own capital sufficiency, which constantly makes it possible to increase the operation volumes in the market.
Through the International network united by advanced technologies, including fast growing opportunities of electronic commerce, and comprising over 10000 companies throughout 76 countries and territories of the world, HSBC offers the wide spectrum of financial services: consumer credits, commercial banking services, corporate banking services to almost 110 million customers, including private persons, enterprises of small and medium business, large organizations, banks, also revenue-intensive private customers. Its profits increase rapidly mostly at the expense of operating in foreign markets - China, Brazil and USA.
Thanks to the HSBC global network, local offices can make use of banking products and services developed in various subdivisions of the group and adapt them to the requirements of local clients. Besides, in several important regional centers, HSBC directly carries out operations in the sphere of investment-banking services and works with large private clients, which, in conjunction with the wide spectrum of services of the group’s commercial subdivisions, enables to meet various requirements of customers – huge companies, financial institutions, and private customers with substantial volume of capital. In many countries, HSBC group offers services for the management of pension accruals.
HSBC sections its business into four major groups: Personal Financial Services, which offers a wide range of personal financial services to over 100 million customers throughout the world, among them current and savings accounts, mortgage loans, insurance, car financing, loans, credit cards, investments and pensions. Commercial banking offers financial services to small, medium and middle-market enterprises. Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets ensures tailored financial services to institutional and corporate clients, and Private Banking, which offers services to individuals with high equity funds in 68 cities.
