The decision by HSBC to remain in London rather than up sticks to Hong Kong should surprise no one except for credulous Canary Wharf estate agents and anxious UK government officials. The bank says its strategic focus will remain on Asia. If so, it should consider reflecting that bias in its boardroom.
Asia remains the engine room of the bank’s earnings. It accounted for 64 per cent of HSBC’s adjusted pre-tax profits in 2014, a 2 percentage point rise from the year before. Profits there have grown an average above 8 per cent since chairman Douglas Flint was appointed to the board in 1995; the comparable figure for Europe is 4 per cent. HSBC has announced plans to redeploy about a sixth of its $2.5tn balance sheet to Asia, especially China’s Pearl River Delta region, to further capitalise on growth there.
Despite its eastward bent, HSBC appears to have just two Asian nationals on its 19-strong board. Both are non-executive directors. Other financial groups with large Asian operations have similarly low regional representation. Standard Chartered, which derived over 70 per cent of