HSBC to Divest Sri Lanka Retail Banking Business to Nations Trust Bank

HSBC Holdings PLC HSBC has agreed to sell its retail banking business in Sri Lanka to Nations Trust Bank PLC (“NTB”).

The deal includes the accounts, credit cards and retail loans of roughly 2,00,000 clients of Sri Lanka’s branch. As part of the transaction, NTB will provide an employment offer to the existing staff.
 
This move will not impact HSBC’s Corporate and Institutional Banking business in Sri Lanka, given its significance to its global corporate clients and global network. The company will maintain its support for corporate and institutional clients, fostering Sri Lanka’s economic growth and facilitating cross-border trade and investment between local businesses and global partners.

Rationale Behind This Divestiture

The decision to divest came after a strategic review of the business, concluding that a sale would be the best outcome for HSBC and its employees and customers.

This deal, expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, is anticipated to generate an immaterial pre-tax gain for HSBC by completion.

This divestiture is part of broader streamlining efforts by HSBC announced in October 2024 to enhance operational efficiency. This enables the bank to strengthen its market share and leadership in areas where it has a competitive edge and an opportunity to boost and support its clients.

In line with this, HSBC is winding down several non-core operations across the U.K., Europe and the United States, while maintaining a more focused presence in Asia and the Middle East. It is also progressing with divestments in Uruguay, Germany, South Africa, Bahrain and France. 

Apart from these, HSBC completed the sale of its businesses in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Greece, Russia, Argentina and Armenia, as well as the retail banking operations in France and Mauritius.

HSBC’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Over the past six months, shares of HSBC have rallied 18.2%, underperforming the industry’s growth of 23.1%.

Currently, HSBC sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Divestments Pursued by Other Banks

Earlier this week, Bank of Montreal BMO initiated a process to sell some of its U.S. branches, which hold approximately $6 billion in deposits, per the Wall Street Journal, as cited by Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.

The move highlights BMO’s efforts to exit select geographies and streamline its U.S. retail footprint following its largest acquisition in 2023.

Last week, The Financial Times reported that Deutsche Bank AG’s DB asset management arm, DWS is preparing to sell its majority-owned data center platform, NorthC, for a potential valuation of more than €2 billion.

By initiating the sale of NorthC, DB’s arm, DWS is aiming to monetize a fast-growing digital infrastructure business at a time when valuations are attractive. The European data center market is booming, fueled by surging demand from artificial intelligence and cloud adoption. Long-term contracted revenues and utility-like returns have drawn strong interest from private equity firms, pension funds and institutional investors.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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