TIDMHSBA
RNS Number : 3025W
HSBC Holdings PLC
14 April 2023
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN
PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION
WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR
REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange
of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of
this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or
completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for
any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or
any part of the contents of this announcement.
Hong Kong Stock Code: 5
14 April 2023
HSBC Holdings plc
ANNOUNCEMENT PURSUANT TO RULE 14.36 OF THE HONG KONG LISTING
RULES
Update on proposed sale of Retail Banking Business in France
* Significant interest rate rises since the sale terms
were agreed and the related fair value accounting
treatment on acquisition have made completion by the
Purchaser Group less certain
* Parties remain committed to the sale, but appropriate
amendments yet to be agreed meaning a delay to
closing expected if the sale completes
* Given sale is less certain, HSBC's French retail
banking business no longer classified as held for
sale - US$2bn reversal of impairment as at 31 March
23
* If sale does not proceed, there would be no material
impact on guidance or performance of HSBC
On 18 June 2021, HSBC Holdings plc ('HSBC' or 'the Group')
announced that HSBC Continental Europe ('HBCE') had signed a
Memorandum of Understanding ('MoU') with Promontoria MMB SAS ('My
Money Group') and its subsidiary Banque des Caraïbes SA (the
'Purchaser', and together with My Money Group, the 'Purchaser
Group') regarding the potential sale of HBCE's retail banking
business in France (the 'Transaction'). The parties subsequently
entered into a binding framework agreement ('Framework Agreement')
on 25 November 2021. My Money Group and the Purchaser are under the
control, directly or indirectly, of funds and accounts managed or
advised by Cerberus Capital Management L.P.
The Purchaser Group has informed us that the significant,
unexpected interest rate rises in France since the Framework
Agreement was signed in 2021, and the related fair value accounting
treatment on acquisition, will significantly increase the amount of
capital required by the enlarged Purchaser Group at closing of the
Transaction. Unless this issue is addressed, the Purchaser will be
unable to obtain regulatory approval for the Transaction. Under the
terms of the Framework Agreement, the Purchaser is required to use
its best efforts to obtain this approval. However, the Purchaser
Group has advised us that they consider that they will be unable to
obtain regulatory approval without amending the previously agreed
Transaction terms. The parties are continuing discussions. If the
Transaction does proceed, it is expected that closing will be
delayed.
On 30 September 2022, HSBC reclassified its retail banking
operations in France to held for sale as, at that point in time,
the Transaction was anticipated to complete in the second half of
2023, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions including
regulatory approval. Each quarter, HSBC reviews the 'held for sale'
classification of its French retail banking operations in
accordance with IFRS 5 (an accounting standard which requires a
high probability of a transaction completing within a 12-month
period).
Given completion of the Transaction has become less certain, as
at 31 March 2023 HSBC is required to change the accounting
classification of its retail banking operations in France. They
will no longer be classified as held for sale. The consequence of
this is a US$2bn reversal of the previously recognised impairment
in respect of the sale of the French retail banking operations
(excluding the goodwill impairment taken at that stage), with a
resulting benefit to common equity tier 1 (estimated at c. 25 bps
based on the Group's CET1 as at 31 December 2022), recognised in
our 1Q23 results.
HSBC remains committed to pursuing the sale providing
appropriate terms can be agreed and to supporting our clients and
colleagues in France at all times.
If the Transaction has not completed by 31 May 2024, the
Framework Agreement will terminate automatically, although that
date can be extended to 30 November 2024 in certain circumstances.
T he French retail business continues to be managed as part of the
Group, and were the Transaction not to complete, there would be no
material impact on guidance or performance at the Group level.
HSBC will provide further updates on the Transaction as
required.
Miscellaneous
The Board of Directors of HSBC Holdings plc as at the date of
this announcement comprises: Mark Tucker*, Noel Quinn, Geraldine
Buckingham , Rachel Duan , Georges Elhedery, Carolyn Julie
Fairbairn , James Anthony Forese , Steven Guggenheimer , José
Antonio Meade Kuribreña , Kalpana Morparia , Eileen K Murray ,
David Nish and Jackson Tai .
* Non-executive Group Chairman
Independent non-executive Director
For and on behalf of
HSBC Holdings plc
Aileen Taylor
Group Company Secretary and Chief Governance Officer
Investor enquiries to:
Richard O'Connor +44 (0) 20 7991 6590 investorrelations@hsbc.com
Media enquiries to:
Gillian James +44 7584 404238 gillian.james@hsbcib.com
Heidi Ashley +44 7920 254057
Sophie Ricord +33 689101762
Note to editors:
HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered
in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 62
countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe,
Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North
Africa. With assets of US$2,967bn at 31 December 2022, HSBC is one
of the world's largest banking and financial services
organisations.
This announcement contains both historical and forward-looking
statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact
are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terms
such as 'expects,' 'targets,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,'
'may,' 'intends,' 'plan,' 'will,' 'should,' 'potential,'
'reasonably possible', 'anticipates,' 'project', or 'continue',
variation of these words, the negative thereof or similar
expressions or comparable terminology. HSBC has based the
forward-looking statements on current plans, information, data,
estimates, expectations and projections about, among other things,
results of operations, financial condition, prospects, strategies
and future events, and therefore undue reliance should not be
placed on them. These forward-looking statements are subject to
risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, as described under
'Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements'
contained in the HSBC Holdings plc Annual Report on Form 20-F for
the year ended 31 December 2022, filed with the SEC on 22 February
2023 (the '2022 Form 20-F'). HSBC undertakes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In
light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the
forward-looking events discussed herein might not occur. Investors
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of their dates. No representation
or warranty is made as to the achievement or reasonableness of and
no reliance should be placed on such forward-looking statements.
Additional information, including information on factors which may
affect the HSBC Group's business, is contained in the 2022 Form
20-F.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
UPDDZGMDMDKGFZM
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2023 08:01 ET (12:01 GMT)
Hsbc (LSE:HSBA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Hsbc (LSE:HSBA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024