Japanese insurer Sumitomo Life has sent some members to join the board of directors of Bao Viet Holdings and dispatched a number of experts to learn about daily operations of the local firm to set up a long-term cooperation plan. Sumitomo Life has completed procedures to acquire an 18% stake in Bao Viet Holdings from HSBC, making it a foreign strategic partner of the local group. Speaking at the press... 

Aug 23 (REUTERS) – Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook on HSBC Holdings PLC to negative from stable on Thursday, saying that money-laundering allegations against the British bank have left HSBC vulnerable to losing business and facing costs related to regulatory fines and litigation. S&P also reaffirmed HSBC’s long-term counterparty credit rating of A+, which is six notches... 

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican regulators say they have fined HSBC $28 million for failing to prevent money laundering through accounts at the bank. Mexico’s National Securities and Banking Commission says the Mexico subsidiary of the London-based bank has paid the fines. The commission says the fine was equal to about half of the subsidiary’s 2011 annual profits. The commission and a report... 

Global banking giant HSBC said Thursday that it has so far slashed $2.0 billion of costs in the first year of its ambitious plans to axe a total of $3.5 billion. HSBC, holding an investor day presentation in London, also revealed that it expected to reach the top end of its $2.5-3.5 billion cost savings target by the end of 2013. “What investors have been sceptical about is whether we can get... 

A report recently released by Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) showed that Vietnam’s economy would be more stable as interest rates in Vietnam dong (VND) were following a downward trend. HSBC said that the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to reduce demand seemed rather successful. In March, the prices of petrol and gas increased by 10 percent, but the rate of inflation dropped to 14.2... 

HSBC on Tuesday dismissed a report in the Financial Times which said the global banking giant plans to scale back or even exit certain Asian countries to concentrate on core areas. “We are not exiting any markets in Asia,” Europe’s biggest bank said in a statement following the FT story published on Tuesday. “Our strategy in the region is to have strong, balanced and diversified... 

The Asia-Pacific business positioned HSBC’s growth with 61 per cent of total group profits before tax in 2011, remaining a key contributor to the HSBC Group’s global performance, according to HSBC. The bank’s latest press release announced profits before tax of $13.3 billion in 2011 on a reported basis, an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year. HSBC’s financial performance in Asia-Pacific was... 

Europe’s largest bank HSBC reported soaring 2011 net profits on Monday as growth in Asia and other emerging markets offset eurozone debt losses and costs linked to its US exit. Profit after tax jumped 28 per cent to $16.8 billion (12.5 billion euros) from $13.2 billion in 2010, the London-headquartered lender said in a statement. The earnings update concludes the annual results season for Britain’s... 

HSBC said Wednesday it had sold its private banking business in Japan to Credit Suisse for $2.7 billion, as part of its broader restructuring to reduce costs and focus on growth. The sale is the latest in a string of transactions since HSBC announced massive cost-cutting measures earlier this year, including plans to save up to $3.5 billion by 2013 and to axe 30,000 jobs globally. Europe’s largest... 

HSBC has launched a new Platinum Visa credit card and introduced the reduced varied administration fees for foreign currency transactions made with the bank’s credit and debit cards. Sumit Dutta, HSBC Vietnam’s CEO, said both new customers and existing customers who chose to upgrade from their Gold Visa card to platinum would continue to enjoy the convenience, top-grade security and global recognition...