HSBC: On A Sound Local Wicket
Revving up its domestic engines, re-jigging enterprises, hiving off some verticals, and upscaling technology seem to be paying off for HSBC India. The bank finds a coveted place in BW’s Most Respected Companies.
From the good old days back in 1853 when The Mercantile Bank of India was bought by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, HSBC is now a leading financial services group in India. With over 36,000 employees in its banking, investment banking and capital markets, asset management, insurance, software development and global resourcing operations in the country, it is a leading custodian in India, at the forefront in arranging deals for Indian companies investing overseas and foreign investments in the country.
HSBC Holdings plc, HSBC India’s London-headquartered parent, covers approximately 3,800 offices in 66 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,603 billion on 30 September 2018, it is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.
In India, it operates in three lines of business, ie, commercial banking, global banking and markets, and retail banking and wealth management. HSBC India offers banking to corporate bodies, governments and other institutions, and wealth management and personal wealth products to individuals.
India is one of its key strategic markets. With around 500 million Indians under the age of 19 expected to join the workforce, HSBC is gearing up to provide more value-added services to customers. The India entity is a huge contributor to the global entity’s revenue accounting for the fourth highest group profits after Hong Kong, the UK and Mainland China.
HSBC has also been investing heavily in technology. In the next three years, the global giant would have invested nearly $17 billion in technology. In the recent past, HSBC has successfully executed a blockchain-enabled, live-trade finance transaction jointly with Reliance Industries and Tricon Energy. It has also been driving digital technologies aimed at streamlining its payments services. It has launched a unified payment interface for its customers to send and receive payments.
HSBC has pledged to provide $100 billion in sustainable financing and investments by 2025, enabling clients to develop or install clean energy and lower-carbon technologies. It is one of five commitments HSBC has made to tackle climate change and support sustainable growth in communities it serves.
“We partner with organisations that have a strong record of implementation and outcomes, established management teams and leadership, and are transparent and accountable. The core focus of CSR initiatives in India rests on two pillars — Future Skills, which provide young people and underserved populations with the requisite employability and financial capabilities to succeed in a global economy; and water, sanitation and hygiene,” says Surendra Rosha, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC India.
In one of its flagship programmes, HSBC Skills for Life, launched in 2015, commits Rs 100 crore to provide 75,000 youth and women with the requisite skillsets to earn a sustainable livelihood. In its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme, three lakh people and seven towns have achieved open-defecation-free status. Contributing to these activities are HSBC’s own employee volunteers. In 2017, HSBC’s employees contributed over 100,000 volunteering hours.
When it comes to staff support, HSBC offers parents/new parents support, which includes counseling, flexible working timings, and day-care facilities. Also, it encourages employees to enhance their skills and knowledge by acquiring professional qualifications and undertaking educational programmes. HSBC also offers the facilities of its Global HSBC University to further develop its employees’ skills. No surprise then that this global bank is on a sound local wicket.
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