HSBC has approximately 7200 offices operating in 85 countries in North and South Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. It serves over 89 million clients. Its assets were estimated at $2.637 trillion as of March 2012. Half of these assets are located in Europe, the other quarter is in Asia and the other quarter is in the Americas.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was established in 1991 to be the group’s holding company. The establishment of this holding company will also facilitate the acquisition of Midland Bank which is based in the UK. The origin and roots of the bank are located in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The first HSBC branch was opened in 1865. Until today, HSBC is still the biggest bank in Hong Kong, especially with the expansion in mainland China where HSBC is known as the biggest international bank.
HSBC shares are primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange where the shares are traded as constituent of FTSE 100 Index. HSBC has a market capitalization of £102.7 billion making the company the second biggest of any company traded on the Exchange. The company shares are secondarily listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, Bermuda Stock Exchange and the Euronext Paris.
The bank has four business groups, namely, Global Private Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Global Banking and Markets, and Commercial Banking.
The growing economies around the world have given HSBC a vision of what the company can become in the near future – a growing banking and financial services company whose name becomes the most popular brand in the world.