HSBC
In Hong Kong, HSBC is the bank others are measured by and, in many cases, aspire to be, notably the big Chinese state banks in their forever-quest to usurp it. Yet again, ‘The bank’, as it’s known, led the Hong Kong market in all the key measures: overall customer accounts, mandatory provident fund accounts and mortgages, in a market where property is paramount.
It sold the most insurance, made the most loans and advances of any bank to Hongkongers and financed the biggest share of trade in the entrepôt. And lest anyone think that Hong Kong chief executive Diana Cesar’s operation was simply a domestic retail powerhouse, it also dominated the debt and capital markets. Despite its London domicile – hardly a convenience these days – HSBC is very much a Hong Kong bank, as the calendar 2018 numbers reveal.
HSBC Hong Kong’s profit before tax in 2018 was 65% of its Asia-Pacific take, and 58% of worldwide HSBC group profit. And this last year, it grew even more, with HSBC Hong Kong’s revenue up 14%.
Those state-owned Chinese and even Japanese aspirants for HSBC’s mantle – we’re looking at you MUFG – have clearly still got some work to do.