HSBC to sell retail, wealth businesses in Mauritius to Absa
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HSBC Holdings has agreed to sell its wealth offerings and retail and business banking businesses in Mauritius to Absa Group, the latest push by Europe’s biggest lender to offload international units.
The transaction includes assets and liabilities tied to about 38,000 customers, according to a statement. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of next year.
HSBC will continue to offer services to mid-size companies and large corporates headquartered in Mauritius as well as to the local subsidiaries of international firms.
“Our decision to sell these operations reflects our desire to focus on our strengths as a leading international bank in Mauritius,” Greg Lowden, chief executive officer of HSBC in Mauritius. “We will continue to serve the needs of our international customers.”
The transaction will give Absa an even greater foothold in retail banking in Mauritius. HSBC had 11 retail branches on the Indian Ocean island nation.
“We remain purposeful in our efforts to create a more diversified business,” Absa Group chief executive officer Arrie Rautenbach said. “We will continue to deploy capital to attractive growth prospects across the continent.”
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HSBC has been offloading a number of international retail banking divisions in recent years. The lender agreed last year to sell its Canadian business to Royal Bank of Canada for C$13.5 billion (S$13.3 billion); in 2021, it announced it would exit its US domestic mass-market retail banking business, in a deal that allowed it to jettison dozens of branches.
Instead, the company has looked to steer billions of US dollars in capital towards Asia. Just last month, HSBC agreed to buy Citigroup’s retail wealth management portfolio in mainland China, adding about US$3.6 billion in assets and deposits. BLOOMBERG
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