Intriguingly the cover of the HSBC first quarter 2015 report featured two iconic images of Hong Kong. Were they sending a clandestine message to shareholders or a warning to the verbose UK politicians?
In global private banking revenue was broadly unchanged as lower revenue from continued repositioning of the business was offset by higher revenue in Asia. The bank reported that they continued to grow the parts of the business that fit with their desired model. There was, in overall terms, a net outflow of $1.0 billion in client money in the first quarter, but in the areas of business targeted for growth, the private bank saw $3 billion of net inflows.
At the end of March total client assets were $366 billion, Europe posted $178 billion of assets, Asia $113 billion, North America $65 billion and Latin America $10 billion.
Overall the results were modest compared to UBS who also reported this week and whose first-quarter profit nearly doubled with much of its business coming from HSBC’s backyard in Asia.
The Asian Wealth Times reported earlier on the possible relocation of HSBC here.
