By Dinesh Nair
DUBAI | Sun Sep 1, 2013 7:46am EDT
(Reuters) - HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) will stop offering wealth management products in Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon as the British lender continues to exit small or insufficiently profitable operations globally as part of a strategic review, the bank said.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, has cut its retail banking business in some Middle Eastern nations, including the three nations affected in the latest move, and merged its operations in Oman with a local bank as part of a three-year global restructuring instigated by Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver.
The worldwide move, which has seen the bank exit or sell 54 businesses to help improve profitability, has also seen it scale back its Islamic and private banking operations.
"HSBC's global strategy for retail banking and wealth management is to offer and grow the wealth business in markets where we can achieve scale," the bank said in a statement issued to Reuters on Sunday.
"After a detailed review of our MENA business, we will discontinue sales of any new wealth investment or wealth insurance products in Lebanon, Jordan and Bahrain from October 7, 2013." Read more...
