HSBC Bank Malta said on Wednesday evening that it will not comment on "rumour or speculation" after a report on Bloomberg said the banking giant was mulling exiting small countries such as Malta, Bermuda and Uruguay.

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, according to people with knowledge of the discussions, the report adds.

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.

The full report is here