HSBC committed to local investment - group chairman

HSBC Group is committed to continued investment in Malta, chairman Stephen Green tells The Times Business in an exclusive interview today.

The chairman of Europe's largest bank had no specific announcements to make but said the group was proud its operations are an important part of the Maltese market.

"We are very conscious that our business is important to Malta's economic well-being and to its social development," he added. "It is a very important business for us."

Asked whether the group had any plans to redomicile additional ancillary arms to the islands as it did with the call centre servicing the UK, Mr Green answered that a Malta base was attractive and opportunities were always examined.

"We have no current specific plans," he pointed out. "The challenge for Malta is to remain cost-competitive. We would look at Malta as a country strategically positioned in Europe that is part of the EU, but it is also true to say that there are other countries that can offer international competitiveness in terms of cost and infrastructure. We have a CEO in Malta who is always looking to make the case for more investment to the islands."

Mr Green, who was in Malta on an official three-day visit last weekend, said he expected the bank's presence in Libya - where it has representative offices - would develop over time.

"We are conscious of the long standing links between Malta and Libya. I don't know how we would develop our presence in Libya, but however it develops, clearly there are going to be links with Malta because HSBC customers have links with the islands."

Internationally, the chairman said HSBC Group was working its way through the situation of its loss-making US operation, after closing the branch-based consumer finance business known as Household a year ago and running down the book.

The group's overall strategy is a focus on emerging markets and on international connectivity as HSBC's calling card.

The bank will continue to invest in its strong business in Asia, where HSBC was born in 1865, and invest in consolidating its network across the region which has shown impressive levels of growth. Just weeks ago, chief executive Michael Geoghegan relocated to Hong Kong to oversee the steering of the Asian business more closely.

Meanwhile, should Chinese regulators give the group the green light, HSBC could raise billions through a planned Shanghai listing later in the year.

"We want to show our commitment to that all-important market. It is our homeland, of course," Mr Green explained. "We are not a domestic bank in the mainland, but the Chinese do not think of us as just another foreign bank."