Word: hsbc
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...result of the acquisition binge: HSBC's asset base exploded, from $472 billion in 1997 to nearly $1.5 trillion by mid-2005. The bank has a global footprint matched only by that of Citigroup, which has slightly larger assets than HSBC. HSBC has also become a very, very different bank. In 1997 nearly half its revenues came from emerging markets; today less than 20% does, according to Morgan Stanley...
Making emerging markets a bigger part of HSBC's business will probably be the primary challenge facing Green, 57, as he takes the bank's helm. A low-profile company insider who joined HSBC in 1982, Green was tapped in November to become HSBC's new chairman after the dapper and dynamic Bond retires in May. A part-time deacon, Green penned an unusual book in 1996 titled Serving God? Serving Mammon?, in which he strives to reconcile the money-hungry world of Big Business with the Christian ideal of love for humanity. "The kingdom of God can be found...
That's not to say HSBC can't compete and win. To get a head start in the virtually untapped Chinese credit-card industry, HSBC in July formed a joint venture with its partner Bank of Communications. Although the operation is 100% owned by the Chinese bank, the cards will be co-branded with HSBC, which plans to acquire a stake when regulations allow. "We always try to be the first through the door," says Yorke, HSBC's China chief. In India HSBC employs mobile marketing teams that push its services at stalls set up in shopping malls, office buildings...
...Mexico HSBC acquired and recapitalized a local bank, Grupo Financiero Bital, for $1.9 billion in 2002, and now that country is the fourth largest profit generator for HSBC globally (after the U.S., Britain and Hong Kong). The success in Mexico has been spurred by an unusual marketing campaign. Executives discovered that the HSBC name is a tongue twister in Spanish, so it launched ads to teach Mexicans how to pronounce the brand correctly. In one TV spot, a man in an HSBC tie leads a crowd at a soccer match in an H-S-B-C cheer...
...true irony facing Green is that his legacy may very well depend on getting the bank back to where it started. Although HSBC's pretax profits from emerging markets jumped 45% in the first half of 2005, according to Morgan Stanley, some bank analysts believe that Green will have to make even more major acquisitions to keep up that pace, especially in Asia. "It is a critical part of the potential growth," says Smith, HSBC's Asia CEO. "It is very important that we get it right." If HSBC does, its future may well be as storied--and profitable...