HSBC has sounded out investors about a flotation of its UK arm, in a move that would realise value from its high street banking business and address regulatory pressures.
The bank has in recent weeks asked investors whether they would support the sale of a sizeable stake. It has also discussed the issue informally at board level, according to three people familiar with the project.
If Stuart Gulliver, HSBC’s chief executive, presses ahead with the plan, it will partially reverse the group’s landmark acquisition of the UK’s Midland Bank more than 20 years ago. That deal helped HSBC to become Britain’s the fourth biggest high-street operator after Lloyds, RBS and Barclays.