HSBC has announced that it will keep its headquarters in London, but said that up to 1,000 investment banking jobs could move to Paris of the UK votes to the the European Union.
Concerns over stricter regulations and the banking levy caused HSBC to consider moving its banking elsewhere, with Hong Kong the most likely alternative.
However, after a review of current financial conditions, Europe’s largest bank decided unanimously against the move and that London “offered the best outcome for our customers and shareholders”.
Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC, told the Today programme:
“London offered the best of both worlds for us. HSBC at its heart is a bank focused on trade and investment flows.
The UK is one of the most globally connected economies in the world with a fantastic regulatory system and legal system and immense experience in dealing with international affairs.”
The decision came after a change in the banking levy was announced in the last Budget by Chancellor George Osborne, which will reduce its impact on banks with large overseas operations. As the UK’s largest bank, HSBC paid £750m of the £1.9bn total raised by the government through the levy.
The determination to remain in the UK also comes amid a period of uncertainty in the Chinese economy, after years of sustained growth.
While the headquarters will remain in the UK for the foreseeable future, the bank may move some of its investment banking staff to Paris in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU. HSBC chairman Douglas Flint told the BBC that while the “best answer” was for the UK to remain in a reformed Europe, the bank had the ability to “move people between London and Paris”.
