The government will hold discussions with HSBC to ensure that the bank will keep them informed regarding any new developments following the Bloomberg report concerning the possibility that the banking giant was mulling exiting small countries such as Malta, Bermuda and Uruguay, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has said.
“We need to look at it with caution from now on and we will be observing the matter,” he said.
Scicluna also revealed that HSBC had also informed him and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat about the article prior to its publication.
Scicluna explained that as it stood the article was merely speculation, however, he did say that Bloomberg was a trustworthy source.
“There is not much I can say because I know as much as anybody. Bloomberg is reliable and this meeting could have taken place, but I do not have a guarantee. It is quite credible that it happened,” he said.
Asked whether the government was preparing for the possibility that HSBC does leave Malta, the Minister said that there are a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ at the moment.
“When a bank is selling its assets to another bank, it needs permission from the MFSA, it needs permission from the European Central Bank.”
On Wednesday evening, HSBC Bank Malta said that it will not comment on "rumour or speculation" when asked about the report.
The report claims that according to people with knowledge of the discussions, Chief Executive Officer John Flint and Chairman Mark Tucker are considering shrinking the bank’s global imprint even further as part of a plan set to be revealed over coming months.
Flint, who took over in February, is reviewing as many as a quarter of the 67 countries the bank operates in and is mulling an exit or sale from smaller consumer operations such as Bermuda, Malta and Uruguay.
The CEO is also looking at expanding the asset management unit, potentially merging it with a rival, they said. Discussions about HSBC’s strategy are at an early stage and no final decisions have been made, they said.
MUBE statement
The Malta Union of Bank Employees – MUBE (the recognized and exclusive bargaining agency at HSBC Bank Malta) said in a statement that it has acted immediately in the best interests of the employees to quash unwarranted negative speculation about HSBC Bank Malta’s future.
As it is not the first time this happened, MUBE said it will continue to monitor any developments (if any) in line with the Union’s long standing standard practice. Needless to say, the HSBC Bank Malta workforce is currently working relentlessly to continue to grow business and move ahead with its plans for the future.
MUBE said that at this stage, the union is treating Bloomberg’s report asbeing purely unwarranted speculation. Thus, as it stands, whilst seeking further assurances from the Bank’s top management, MUBE will continue with its agenda in support of the employees’ welfare with a business as usual approach.
HSBC statement
For its part, HSBC issued a company announcement about the report, saying that HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. Board has no information that requires a further company announcement and that the bank’s media policy is not to comment on speculative stories.