HSBC reportedly mulls exiting from U.S. retail banking

HSBC Holdings Plc is considering a complete exit from its retail banking in the United States, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

The move came after narrowing the options for how to improve performance at its struggling North America business, the Financial Times added.

HSBC’s senior management seeks to present the plan to the board in the coming weeks, the Financial Times quoted people familiar with the situation as saying.

HSBC declined to comment on the FT report.

In October, the bank said it planned to reduce annual costs to below $31 billion by 2022, a more ambitious target than it set out in February and well below the operating expenses of $42.3 billion it reported in 2019.

HSBC also said it would also speed up the transformation of its U.S. business, where it has long struggled to compete with much bigger players.