HSBC 2008 Annual Report Download - page 75

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• The cost efficiency ratio improved to 44.2 per
cent excluding the US$425 million gains noted
above. Costs were tightly controlled in Europe
and North America, but grew elsewhere as the
Group continued to expand operations in
emerging markets, particularly in Asia.
• Customer numbers grew to 2.9 million, with
continuing recruitment of new customers
through existing operations and gains from the
acquisition of the assets, liabilities and
operations of The Chinese Bank in Taiwan,
despite a reduction from the sale of the French
regional banks.
Business highlights in 2008
Commercial Banking achieved key objectives
toward its international business strategy in 2008 as
the proportion of its total revenues derived from
international customers and products increased.
• Revenue from foreign exchange and trade and
supply chain products grew strongly, with
increases of 66 per cent and 27 per cent,
respectively. This was driven by improved
cross-selling of products, particularly in foreign
exchange, as customers sought protection from
volatile currency movements. A number of
initiatives were launched to extend foreign
exchange services, which included enhancing
relationship management in the US and UAE,
and introducing dedicated sales desks in India.
• The volume of international trade finance
increased significantly and revenue grew
commensurately as HSBC benefited from higher
commodity prices, the reintermediation of
traditional trade instruments in respect of which
the Group demonstrated continued capacity to
lend, and improved pricing reflecting market
trends. HSBC’s growth outpaced market growth
in a number of key countries, particularly in
Asia and the Middle East.
• Successful Global Links referrals nearly
doubled to 5,600, with the aggregate transaction
value exceeding US$11 billion, an increase of
96 per cent. The use of electronic account
opening ‘SmartForms’ improved customer
experience.
In support of its strategy to be the best bank for
small businesses, HSBC focused on deposit
gathering and transaction banking, and was
particularly successful in attracting customer
deposits.
• With over US$100 billion in customer deposits,
HSBC’s small and micro segments are a
significant source of funding for Commercial
Banking, generating over twice as much in
liabilities as loans and advances to customers.
Customer numbers in the small and micro
segments rose by 7 per cent to 2.6 million. In
Taiwan, the acquisition of the assets, liabilities
and operations of The Chinese Bank expanded
the branch network to 33 and added over 15,000
small business customers.
• Customer loyalty was evidenced by an increase
in the use of internet banking, with the number
of active users of Business Internet Banking
growing by 16 per cent and the number of
transactions by 18 per cent.
• New small business offerings continued to be
initiated. BusinessDirect was extended to seven
countries and total customer numbers exceeded
180,000. BusinessVantage was launched in
Indonesia while, in the US, the autumn
marketing campaign led to over 9,000 new
accounts. New business card products were
rolled out in a further six countries.
• The announcement of HSBC’s US$5 billion
International SME Fund in December under-
scored the Group’s commitment to lending to
small and medium-sized enterprises, and led to
significant interest from existing and
prospective customers. Specific initiatives were
launched in the UK, Hong Kong, France and
Malta.
Commercial Banking increased its intra-Group
referrals, in part by extending the Global Links
platform to facilitate cross-customer group
referrals.
• In Hong Kong and India, an initiative to
increase referrals across customer groups
resulted in a two-fold rise in the number of
Premier account referrals, and significant
growth in referrals from Personal Financial
Services to Commercial Banking. Similar
programmes in the UK contributed to sales of
Premier accounts and mortgage products, and
plans are underway to extend these programmes
to other regions in 2009.
• Referrals to Private Banking grew by 30 per
cent, and led to US$2.7 billion in new assets
under management, while referrals from Private
Banking led to a three-fold increase in new
relationships.
• Sales of Global Markets products were
particularly strong in foreign exchange under
Commercial Banking’s strategy to be the
leading bank for international business.