How HSBC's Asia Pivot & Business Streamlining Efforts Drive Growth

HSBC Holdings HSBC, a well-known global bank based in London, has been restructuring its operations to enhance efficiency and focusing on high-growth businesses.

HSBC has continuously been taking steps to streamline and refocus its global operations. In early 2025, it announced a $1.5-billion cost-saving plan from the organizational simplification efforts (to be achieved by 2026). For this, it will likely incur $1.8 billion in total severance and other upfront charges by the end of next year. Also, the company plans to redeploy an additional $1.5 billion from the strategic reallocation of costs from non-strategic or low-returning activities into its core strategy.

Hence, HSBC is winding down several non-core operations in 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, it 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.

As part of its Asia pivot strategy, HSBC is strengthening its performance in the region, with a focus on high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. At present, more than 50% of its business is centered in the region. In mainland China, it is growing its wealth business through lifestyle-focused centers, acquisitions like Citigroup’s retail wealth arm, digital upgrades and talent hires. 

In India, the company is expanding rapidly, with approval to open 20 branches, adding to its current 26. As the country’s wealthy population increases, HSBC is boosting its presence through initiatives like launching Global Private Banking, acquiring L&T Investment Management and enhancing Premier Banking. These efforts will help the company strengthen its position in the Asian and global markets.

Initiatives Taken by HSBC’s Global Peers to Sustain Growth

HSBC’s two close global peers are Barclays BCS and UBS Group AG UBS.

Like HSBC, Barclays has been striving to reduce costs and exit non-core or low-return markets. In sync with this, in August, it agreed to sell its stake in Entercard Group, while in February, Barclays divested its Germany-based consumer finance business. Additionally, in April 2025, it announced a collaboration with Brookfield to transform its payment acceptance business. Further, last year, Barclays acquired Tesco’s retail banking business, which complements its existing business.

Barclays’ structural cost actions have resulted in gross savings of £1 billion in 2024, with the plans to achieve additional gross efficiency savings of £0.5 billion this year. By 2026-end, the company expects total gross efficiency savings of £2 billion and a cost-to-income ratio in the high 50s.

UBS Group, based in Zurich, has expanded its global presence through acquisitions and partnerships. It acquired Credit Suisse in 2023, partnered with India’s 360 ONE WAM in April 2025 and maintains JVs with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust in Japan and Banco do Brasil, all boosting its wealth and investment banking capabilities.

Per its business restructuring plans, UBS Group is likely to wind down its Non-Core and Legacy portfolios, releasing more than $6 billion of capital by 2026-end. Through these efforts, UBS Group is well-placed to unlock further cost reductions toward the end of 2025 and into 2026 as it delivers on its ambition of $13 billion in gross cost savings by the end of 2026.

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

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