HSBC to double its investment in Asia, West Asia, says CEO

HSBC HOLDINGS EXPECTS to double down on its investment-banking operations in Asia and the West Asia after exiting key businesses in Europe and the US, chief executive officer Georges Elhedery said.

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The bank will focus on debt and other financing activities globally as well as mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets in Asia and the West Asia, Elhedery said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday at an HSBC conference in Hong Kong. The restructuring will save $1.5 billion in efficiency costs and enable the bank to invest in areas where it has more competitive edge to generate "quality" revenue, he said.

Taking the helm more than six months ago, Elhedery has unleashed a sweeping overhaul at the bank, leading to the exit of several senior executives. He combined the commercial and investment banking units and made operations in the UK and Hong Kong standalone businesses. He shuttered most of its mergers and acquisition and equity underwriting operations in the US, UK and continental Europe.