"We are currently reviewing our strategic options with respect to our wholly owned subsidiary in Canada," Gillian James, senior media relations manager at HSBC, wrote in an email.National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine said the review of HSBC Bank Canada, the country's seventh largest bank by assets, comes as HSBC faces pressure from Chinese insurer Ping An, its largest shareholder, to break up the bank.
The bank, while one of HSBC's smaller foreign subsidiaries, was the third largest contributor to HSBC's commercial banking profits in 2021 to make it a "disproportionately profitable business," Dechaine said. Dechaine noted TD Bank Group and BMO are already in the midst of multibillion-dollar takeovers in the U.S., making them less likely to be potential buyers.
HSBC has been winding down its exposure in North America. Last year, the bank sold off its U.S. mass market retail division, cutting its branches in the country from 148 to 58.
They always sucked anyways! Bye bye, way better Canadian lenders