HSBC sold its East and West Coast mass market retail banking operations to Citizens Bank and Cathay Bank, respectively. The East Coast transaction also included HSBC’s online banking portfolio, and represented a value of $9.2 billion in deposits and $2.2 billion in outstanding loans, while the West Coast transaction represented a value of $1 billion in deposits and $800 million in outstanding loans.
The transactions are a part of HSBC’s strategy to exit its U.S. mass market retail banking business and focus on the banking and wealth management needs of globally connected affluent and high-net-worth clients. HSBC retained a small network of physical locations in existing markets, which will be repurposed into international wealth centers.
HSBC is a multinational investment bank and financial services company, the second-largest in Europe. HSBC is one of several recent non-U.S. banks, including BNP Paribas and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, that S&C has advised in selling its U.S. retail banking businesses.
The S&C team that advised HSBC included Mitch Eitel, Stephen Salley, Kristin Deliso, Irene Kim and Alex Bavis. Nir Fishbien advised on tax matters, Regina Readling and Jeannette Bander advised on employee compensation and benefits matters. Mehdi Ansari and Daniel Stern advised on intellectual property matters, and Rick Wertheim and Tracey Russell advised on broker-dealer issues. Camille Orme and Wendy Goldberg are advising HSBC on regulatory matters in connection with HSBC’s restructuring of its U.S. business.