(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc is exploring the sale of various business in Germany including its wealth-management, custody and fund administration units, according to people familiar with the matter.
The London-listed lender is working with advisers on a review, they said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The discussions are at an early stage and there’s no certainty they will lead to a sale, they said.
The bank’s corporate-banking and trading activities in the country aren’t affected by the review, the people said.
A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment.
The disposals would add to HSBC’s long list of exits from business activities and countries in recent years including North America and its French retail operations. The exits are part of a move to sharpen its focus on its core Asian operations with the bank looking to cater to German corporates with operations in Asia for instance.
HSBC’s German fund administration business Inka is one of the biggest in the industry with around €400 billion ($431 billion) of assets under administration, according to its website. Fund administration firms cater to asset managers and provide services such as fund accounting, financial reporting and portfolio valuations.
The last big transaction in the custody space was the acquisition of Royal Bank of Canada’s European asset servicing operations by Credit Agricole SA-owned CACEIS. Societe Generale SA is said to be exploring options for its custodian business.
HSBC’s German private-banking activities generated around $90 million in revenues in 2023, according to the bank.
Banking deals in Europe have gotten a fresh impetus this year as some private equity funds and governments seek to exit their post-financial crisis investments. Some lenders including HSBC are streamlining their global footprints even as others actively seek acquisitions with the tailwind from rising interest rates slowing.
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