Page 112 - Flip Banks TG

autonomous country heads to a more centralised control

structure.

In the two years to 2018 HSBC’s share price surged more

than 70 per cent which may be attributed to its restructuring

and focused growth.

Growth by Acquisition

Restructuring

Under former chairman Sir John Bond, HSBC had embarked

on an acquisition spree over the previous decade, snapping

up Household, a US subprime lender, Republic/Safra, a

private bank, and Bital, a Mexican retail bank. The financial

crisis left these acquisitions languishing with little or no

return on assets – perhaps a stimulus for unethical

behaviour in terms of tax evasion and money laundering?

Particularly so if the control mechanisms were not in place

to curb these activities.

By 2018 interest rates were going higher, most of the

restructuring work and shedding of assets had been done at

HSBC and a lot of the fines and regulatory headaches were

behind the bank.