HSBC is considering the sale of its business in Canada, one of the largest international banking brands in the country worth billions of dollars, as it looks to increase returns as demanded by its largest shareholder.
“We are currently reviewing our strategic options with respect to our wholly owned subsidiary in Canada,” the bank said in an emailed statement.
HSBC did not offer any comment on the potential valuation of the business, but according to its latest financial results it had assets of C$125 billion ($92 billion) and total equity of C$5.8 billion as of June 30th.
The business is profitable, unlike some others HSBC has tried to dispose of in recent years, making C$490 million before tax in the first half of this year.
That means HSBC is likely to charge any buyer a substantial premium to its current valuation.
A spokesperson for the bank said the review is at an early stage and no final decision has been made, but one option would be a sale of the lender’s 100% stake in HSBC Bank Canada.
The disposal would represent the latest in a series of divestments at HSBC, which once styled itself the “world’s local bank”.
In May last year HSBC announced it would exit mass-market banking in the United States, a decision followed up in June by the announcement of the bank’s intention sell its French retail business as part of a plan to improve profits. These decisions are understood to have been taken in response to calls from top shareholder China’s Ping An Insurance Group to split off its Asian business.
HSBC Bank Canada includes four divisions covering HSBC’s commercial banking, personal banking, investment banking and markets services business in the country.