THE local arm of HSBC aims to drive its giant Asian banking franchise even harder, particularly its Chinese business, as it looks to lure business customers away from Australian rivals, which have only a limited presence in the region.
HSBC, one of the world's biggest banks, has also revived its branch roll-out program across Australia, although it will be limited to a few new capital city sites a year.
HSBC's Australian business yesterday delivered a 25 per cent increase in annual profit to $251 million, fuelled by solid growth in mortgages and a surge in markets trading income.
The local arm's result outpaced the group's sluggish global performance. HSBC on Monday posted a 2 per cent rise in annual underlying profit to $US5.83 billion ($A6.44 billion). The global result disappointed markets, prompting steep share price falls in HSBC across its main listings in Hong Kong and London.
While HSBC is one of the few major British banks not to rely on government support over the past year, its bad debts continued to rise, particularly in its investment banking division.
Australian chief executive Paulo Maia said the local operations were a standout among HSBC's operations in developed markets.
''The different components of the business here are performing positively,'' he said. ''The good results are evidence of the resilience of the Australian economy.''
As a stand-alone business, HSBC's Australia profit eclipses the results of regional lenders Bank of Queensland or Bendigo Bank.
Mr Maia said HSBC would open up to four branches a year across Australia as it targets wealthy customers and businesses with Asian trade links, particularly with China.
Globally, HSBC is strengthening its focus on Asia, where it expects to generate the bulk of its earnings over time. Last year about a third of HSBC's profits were from Asia.
Underscoring this, the bank's global chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, last year relocated from London to Hong Kong, and the bank plans to list in Shanghai.
Mr Maia said Asia was also important to Australia's economic future.
''We're seeing the shift in the centre of gravity coming from the north and the west to the east and the south,'' he said.
