LONDON (Reuters) - Just as Britain moves to sever its ties with the European Union, two of its biggest banks, HSBC and Standard Chartered, are building up their operations in the bloc in a bid to win more business helping clients grappling with red tape and Brexit. FILE PHOTO: People walk past the head office of Standard Chartered bank in the City of London February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/File Photo HSBC (HSBA.L) this month launched an internal ‘Europe Means Business’ campaign aimed at building internal awareness of its capabilities in the region and prompting staff to pitch the Asia-focused bank’s abilities to clients in other markets. Meanwhile StanChart has in the last year and a half increased its staff in Frankfurt from 90 to 200, its head of corporate and institutional banking Simon Cooper said. “Brexit was the catalyst for us to set up a local subsidiary in Europe ... but strategically it makes sense anyway,” said Cooper, adding that StanChart plans to hire ‘tens’ more in the German financial hub, as well as in Paris. The loss of some EU market access for British financial firms resulting from Brexit means many large companies that have traditionally run all their European finances from London, now need a bank that can help them operate between multiple hubs. For HSBC and StanChart, which make more than two thirds of their revenues in Asia and have seen Europe as less important, that means refocusing on the world’s largest trading bloc. Europe and the Americas contributed just 11 percent of StanChart revenues in 2018, while for HSBC, Europe including its very large British business, contributed 30 percent. Both banks hope to lean on existing relationships in their strongholds in Asia, as well as a growing client base in other parts of the world to feed their European operations. Their bids for more European business are aimed not so much at investment banking such as advice on mergers, but the more day-to-day activities of trade finance and cash management known as ‘transaction banking’. This is a lucrative business, with overall revenues for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region climbing to $10 billion in 2018, from $9.5 billion the previous year, data from industry analytics firm Coalition shows. HSBC vies for a top 3 spot in competing for that pot with U.S. rivals Citigroup (C.N) and JP Morgan (JPM.N), while StanChart ranks between seventh and tenth, Coalition data reveals. Firms working in Europe are seeking guidance on dealing with evolving EU regulations such as a new payment services directive which is set to transform banking by allowing customers to manage their finances through third party providers. On the flipside, StanChart is also targeting smaller corporates in EU countries that have significant business in its core markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Cooper said. “A quick analysis showed there are something like 1,000 companies in Germany that operate in three or more of our markets, we’re very under-penetrated among this European client base and so there’s a real opportunity there,” he said. For HSBC, the renewed focus on Europe is less about hiring new staff in its 12 continental EU markets than galvanizing them to work more closely together, James Emmett, the bank’s Chief Executive for the region, said. “Our priority is to build the leading international bank in Europe, and we have a unique opportunity to do that because the franchise is already in place,” he said. Emmett said that companies from countries including China and the U.S. are increasingly seeking to work with a single bank in continental Europe to manage their cash flow, financing and other needs, especially as Brexit looms. “Chinese companies, for example, aren’t saying they’ll pull out of the UK into Europe, but they want us to help them manage between the two,” Emmett said. Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Alexander Smith
HSBC and Standard Chartered are expanding their EU operations to help clients tackle financial regulations and Brexit. Apart from investment banking, the banks will also include day-to-day transaction banking. HSBC has launched a “Europe Means Business” campaign, and Standard Chartered’s Frankfurt staff has more than doubled to three or more. Up to now, UK financial companies have run the European businesses from London, but are reported to require multiple hubs after Brexit. HSBC’s EU markets CEO James Emmett said firms from countries including the US and China increasingly want to work with a single bank in continental Europe.