The move 'enables us to focus our resources on higher-value opportunities across our international network', says HSBC Holdings plc chief executive officer Noel Quinn.

(April 9): HSBC Holdings plc agreed to sell its business in Argentina, and will book a US$1 billion (RM4.75 billion) charge for the first quarter from the disposal, as the lender hones its focus on faster-growing Asian markets.

The bank will sell the operations to Grupo Financiero Galicia for US$550 million, subject to some price adjustments, according to a statement on Tuesday. The deal includes all of HSBC Argentina’s business, which ranges from banking to asset management and insurance, as well as US$100 million of subordinated debt.

The move “enables us to focus our resources on higher-value opportunities across our international network”, chief executive officer Noel Quinn said in the statement. The Argentine unit has “limited connectivity” to the rest of the business, and creates “substantial earnings volatility for the group when its results are translated into US dollars”, he said.

HSBC Argentina, which has more than 100 branches, 3,100 employees, and about one million customers, made a profit before tax of US$239 million in 2023. The bank said in February that Argentine President Javier Milei’s move to devalue the peso by more than 50% shrunk the bank’s profit before taxes by US$548 million for the fourth quarter.

HSBC said it will recognise about US$4.9 billion of historical foreign currency translation reserve losses when the deal closes. That reflects cumulative losses over the years from the translation of the unit’s Argentinian peso-denominated book value into US dollars, which are already reflected in the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, a key measure of capital strength.

The impact of the transaction will be excluded from HSBC’s dividend payout calculation, which remains at 50% for 2024. It is expected to complete within the next 12 months.

Asia focus

HSBC, based in London, has been disposing of operations across the world as it has pivoted to focus more on Asia. It has exited some business in North America and France as it builds out in India, Singapore and China. It’s several years into a strategy of pivoting its business increasingly towards the faster-growing markets of Asia where the bank makes most of its money.

Royal Bank of Canada completed the purchase of HSBC’s Canadian unit in March. HSBC has said it will recognise an estimated gain on sale of US$4.9 billion for the first quarter, and declare a special dividend of about US$4 billion as a result.

The lender is also exploring the sale of various businesses in Germany, including its wealth-management, custody and fund administration units, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

Disposals of businesses in markets like those have been balanced by acquisitions of insurance and wealth management assets in Asia, a region with swelling ranks of the wealthy.