Hsbc Bank: Austria Presence And Services

HSBC Holdings plc is a British universal bank and financial services group with a multinational footprint. It has offices, branches, and subsidiaries in 62 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America. With over 7,790 branch and ATM locations worldwide, it is the largest Europe-based bank by total assets. So, is there an HSBC bank in Austria?

HSBC has offices, branches and subsidiaries in 62 countries and territories

HSBC Holdings plc is a British universal bank and financial services group with a multinational footprint. It has offices, branches, and subsidiaries in 62 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America, serving around 39 million customers.

HSBC has a significant presence in Europe, with operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Channel Islands. In Germany, HSBC operates as HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG, offering private, commercial, and investment banking, as well as asset management services. The bank has branches in several German cities, including Düsseldorf, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. Additionally, HSBC has a presence in Austria through its subsidiary, HSBC Trinkaus, which has a branch in Vienna.

In North America, HSBC has a strong presence in the United States, with branches and ATMs across the country. The bank also has a significant number of locations in Asia, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, and Singapore. HSBC's presence in Oceania includes Australia and New Zealand, while in South America, the bank has expanded into countries such as Brazil and Argentina.

HSBC's global reach also extends to Africa, where it has established offices, branches, or subsidiaries in various countries on the continent. The bank's diverse geographical presence allows it to serve a large customer base and facilitate international trade and financial transactions.

HSBC Holdings plc is headquartered in London, England

The bank traces its origins to a hong trading house in British Hong Kong. It was established in 1865 in Hong Kong and opened branches in Shanghai in the same year. HSBC was first formally incorporated in 1866. In 1991, the present parent legal entity, HSBC Holdings plc, was established in London, and the historic Hong Kong-based bank became a fully-owned subsidiary. The following year, HSBC took over Midland Bank and became one of the largest domestic banks in the United Kingdom.

HSBC Holdings plc has been implicated in several controversies and has been fined repeatedly for money laundering and setting up large-scale tax avoidance schemes. Despite this, it is considered one of the world's strongest banks and plays a significant role in the global financial system.

In June 2023, HSBC announced its intentions to exit its current headquarters at 8 Canada Square in Canary Wharf, London, when its lease expires in 2027. The bank stated that it intends to move to a building in the City of London near St Paul's Cathedral.

HSBC has a dual primary listing on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges

HSBC Holdings plc is a British universal bank and financial services group with a dual primary listing on the Hong Kong and London Stock Exchanges. It is headquartered in London, England, with historical and business links to East Asia and a multinational footprint. As of 2023, it was ranked 20th in the world in the Forbes rankings of large companies.

The bank was established in 1865 in British Hong Kong and opened branches in Shanghai in the same year. It was first formally incorporated in 1866 as The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. In 1991, the present parent legal entity, HSBC Holdings plc, was established in London, and the historic Hong Kong-based bank became its fully-owned subsidiary. The following year, HSBC took over Midland Bank, becoming one of the largest domestic banks in the UK.

HSBC has offices, branches, and subsidiaries in 62 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America, serving around 39 million customers. It has secondary listings on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

HSBC's shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange through a primary share listing and on the Hong Kong and Bermuda Stock Exchanges through branch listings. The New York Stock Exchange listing is through an American Depository Receipt (ADR) programme for US-based shareholders, with each American Depository Share (ADS) representing five ordinary USD0.50 shares.

HSBC was founded in 1865 in Hong Kong and opened branches in Shanghai the same year

HSBC, or The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, was founded in 1865 in Hong Kong. The bank was established by Thomas Sutherland, a Scotsman working for a large shipping firm in Hong Kong. He aimed to create a bank that operated on "sound Scottish banking principles" to support the growing trade between Asia and Europe.

Indeed, on 3 March 1865, HSBC opened for business at 1 Queen's Road Central in Hong Kong. Just a month later, in April, the bank opened a branch in Shanghai. This rapid expansion highlights the bank's early ambition to establish itself as a prominent financial institution in the region.

HSBC's early operations focused on financing trade, particularly in commodities such as tea, silk, cotton, jute, sugar, rice, and silk. The bank also issued locally denominated banknotes in both Hong Kong and Shanghai, which were trusted by local merchants as a stable currency. This issuance of banknotes contributed to HSBC becoming Hong Kong's principal note issuer, a position it still holds today.

The founding and early years of HSBC were marked by a strong connection to Hong Kong and Shanghai, with the bank's name and operations centred around these two cities. The bank's rapid expansion and focus on trade finance laid the foundation for its future growth and influence in the region and beyond.

HSBC has been repeatedly fined for money laundering

HSBC, a multinational bank headquartered in London, has been implicated in a number of controversies, including repeated fines for money laundering. In 2012, the bank was fined a record $1.92 billion for failing to prevent money laundering by Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) called these "stunning failures of oversight". The fine was the largest under the Bank Secrecy Act, and HSBC also agreed to be monitored by US regulators for five years.

In 2013, the bank reached another settlement with the US Department of Justice, paying a fine of $1.9 billion and implementing further reforms to prevent financial crimes. The US Senate committee issued a report stating that HSBC had breached money-laundering rules and assisted Iran and North Korea in circumventing US nuclear-weapons sanctions.

In 2015, HSBC was fined $101.5 million in relation to a $3.5 billion currency scheme that defrauded HSBC clients. Two executives were charged, and one was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

In 2018, HSBC was fined 15 million rand by South Africa's central bank for weaknesses in its processes to detect money laundering and terrorism financing. The bank was not found to have facilitated any transactions involving money laundering or terrorism financing in South Africa.

In 2020, HSBC told AUSTRAC (Australia's financial intelligence agency) that it may have broken anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws by failing to report thousands of transactions.

In December 2021, HSBC was fined £64 million by the Bank of England for "serious failings" over its measures to protect customer deposits. The fine was the second-highest imposed by the regulator to date.

In July 2023, HSBC was fined about $2.2 million over the Euribor rate scandal in Switzerland.

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