HSBC engages Ping An, opposes Call to Break Up

While in discussions with its largest shareholder, Ping An Insurance Group Co., HSBC Holdings Plc continues to reject proposals that the banking giant should be divided up.

According to a report from Bloomberg in April, Ping An and HSBC have discussed the possibility of splitting apart the bank’s Asian operations and listing them separately in Hong Kong. At the end of 2021, the biggest insurer in China controlled more than 8% of the bank with headquarters in London, HSBC. Asia accounts for the majority of HSBC’s profit before taxes, with Europe accounting for about a fifth.

According to HSBC CFO Ewen Stevenson in a Bloomberg conversation, the bank takes Ping An’s opinions seriously and is still in communication with the Chinese corporation regarding its requests for some sort of structural adjustment. We are undoubtedly speaking with Ping An and will do so moving forward, Stevenson added.

However, the world’s largest bank believes that none of the structural possibilities involves that, and it would be challenging to see the value for shareholders in any split. According to a report from Bloomberg in April, Ping An and HSBC have discussed the possibility of splitting apart the bank’s Asian operations and listing them separately in Hong Kong.