HSBC will rebrand UK retail bank, says to cut up to 8,000 UK jobs

[LONDON] HSBC will rebrand its British retail banking unit as part of the separation of the business and the bank said it was not certain it will even keep the division.

HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver also said between 7,000 and 8,000 jobs would be cut in Britain, or about one in six of its staff. He expects those cuts to be by "natural attrition", noting that turnover in the business is about 3,000 staff a year.

New UK rules require HSBC to separate its domestic retail business by 2019, and sources have said it could sell the business. Mr Gulliver said a decision had not been made.

"The question for us will be around our ability to control the dividend coming from the ring-fenced bank and to make sure that the strategy of the ring-fenced bank is complimentary to the strategy of the group," he said.

"We will need to see how the PRA looks at the implementation of the legislation so it's far too early today to make any statements about whether we will keep the ring-fenced bank or not keep the ring-fenced bank."

He added: "We will operate with a different brand name. We haven't decided what that brand name will be and we're going to consult customers and our own staff over the next few months to decide what we might call this bank."

REUTERS