HSBC 2007 Annual Report Download - page 24

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Report of the Directors: Business Review (continued)
Business highlights
22
• HSBC continued to improve its capacity to meet
customers’ cross-border business requirements.
International Banking Centres covering a further
38 countries and territories were opened,
increasing their coverage to 54 countries and
nearly all of the customer base. Customer
experience was improved with the launch of
SmartForms (electronic account opening forms)
in 16 countries, the appointment of specialist
corporate international teams in the UK and
France and the creation of new country desks in
mainland China.
• The effect of these initiatives was demonstrated
by growth of 125 per cent in the number of
successful referrals through the Global Links
system, with aggregate transaction values
doubling to US$6 billion.
• HSBC’s success in its strategy to be the best
bank for small business was recognised with
awards in Hong Kong and the UK for the
Business Internet Banking (‘BIB’) platform, and
HSBC’s service quality was recognised with
multiple ‘Best Partner’ awards in Hong Kong
and the top ranking for overall satisfaction in the
Canadian Federation of Independent Business
survey.
• Direct channel capabilities were improved
through the upgrade of BIB platforms in Hong
Kong and in six countries in the Rest of
Asia-Pacific region, and the enhancement of
HSBCnet. A total of 800,000 customers are now
active users of BIB, an increase of 24 per cent in
2007, while the number of transactions on
HSBCnet grew during the year by 157 per cent
to 27 million.
• Commercial Banking continued to make
progress in meeting customers’ insurance
needs with product launches in Hong Kong
(FlexiCommercial, Privileged Term and Capital
Protection Plan) and the UK (Motor Fleet,
Professional Indemnity and High Risk
Liability). A number of further projects
with strategic partners are currently under
development for launch in 2008 in other
countries, including Brazil, France and Mexico.
• Commercial Banking continued to grow its
cross-referrals to and from other customer
groups. In the first half of 2007, over 50 per cent
of new small business customers in key markets
had existing Personal Financial Services
relationships. Referrals of Commercial Banking
customers to Private Banking resulted in
US$1.8 billion of assets under management.
Sales of Global Banking and Markets products
increased strongly, particularly in treasury
products which had revenue increases of over
30 per cent on an underlying basis and more
than 50 per cent in Asia.
Europe
• Expansion in Europe continued with the
broadening of product capabilities and
geographical reach. Receivables Finance was
launched in four countries and International
Banking Centres in a further seven. Investment
continued within Central and Eastern Europe,
especially in Poland, where HSBC now offers
services in six cities. Following receipt of a
retail banking licence in Russia in July 2007,
HSBC opened offices in two cities in addition to
Moscow.
• In Turkey, rapid expansion continued with the
opening of a further 29 branches serving small
business customers and the ongoing recruitment
of experienced relationship managers. This
contributed to a 48 per cent rise in customer
numbers, particularly in small and micro
businesses. A number of investment banking
advisory and structured finance transactions
were referred to Global Banking and Markets
from Commercial Banking’s corporate and
mid-market business.
• Further segmentation was applied in the UK
with the expansion of multicultural banking,
including the UK’s first dedicated Polish
commercial banking unit. Following the
realignment of the relationship management and
distribution approach in commercial centres,
customer satisfaction improved by 8 percentage
points.
• In the UK, 25 per cent more start-up businesses
chose HSBC for their banking than in 2006 and
nearly a quarter of all new small and micro
customers chose Business Direct accounts.
Improvements in internet banking led to a
30 per cent increase in the number of users and
resulted in recognition from independent
surveys for both customer usage and
functionality.