HSBC’s wealth push is a good story only half told

HSBC Holdings came a long way under Noel Quinn as chief executive officer, becoming a simpler and more efficient firm, while asset sales helped fund billions of dollars in share buybacks. When Georges Elhedery takes over the top job in September, he faces different challenges – and it will be a lot harder to show progress.

HSBC is among the world’s biggest banks, operating in nearly 60 countries and with fortunes tightly coupled to the ups and downs of global trade. It has all the businesses you would expect from a universal bank, but its revenue is highly geared to lending, and its loan books are dominated by two massive centres in Hong Kong and the UK. Between them, these account for more than three-quarters of HSBC’s mortgages and nearly two-thirds of total loans.

With interest rates set to decline in the UK and US (which governs Hong Kong rates through the currency peg) HSBC needs to boost its non-interest income – and fast.