HSBC considers $300b cost-cutting plan

HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery is weighing cost-cutting measures that could save up to $300 million (AED 1.1 billion) by reducing top management layers, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The plan comes at a time when the lender is considering a merger of its commercial and investment banking units, the FT report said.

The merger will likely reduce top management layers, affecting senior people and some of the larger roles, the FT reported, with an announcement expected by the end of October.

HSBC is the largest lender in Europe, employing about 214,000 people globally. It has been stripping out duplicated roles for years to streamline management ranks and reduce costs.

The reported $300 million (AED 1.1 billion) in savings would be a fraction of group costs that reached $16.3 billion (59 billion) in the first six months this year, five per cent higher than in the same period a year ago.

Climbing costs at HSBC have added to growing investor concern about how big banks manage their expenses, putting executives under pressure to address spending.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that HSBC was weighing the combination of its commercial and investment banking divisions to eliminate overlapping roles to cut costs.

HSBC has also in recent years slashed its businesses in Western markets such as the United States, France and Canada as it focuses on Asia and markets where it has scale.