汇丰同意以21亿美元向安联出售新加坡保险业务

HSBC sells Singapore insurance business to Allianz for $2.1bn
HSBC has agreed to sell its Singapore insurance business to Allianz for $2.1bn as the bank continues its global restructuring under chief executive Georges Elhedery.
Since taking charge of Europe’s largest lender two years ago, Elhedery has shut HSBC’s investment bank in the US and Europe and pulled out of some markets.
In announcing the deal on Friday, HSBC said it remained committed to Singapore, which is its fifth-largest geographic contributor to group pre-tax profit. Singapore is also a key wealth hub for the bank.
“The transaction forms part of the ongoing simplification of the HSBC Group as it focuses on increasing leadership and market share in the areas where it has a clear competitive advantage and the greatest opportunities to grow and support its clients,” the bank said.
The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
The sale marks a reversal for HSBC’s aspirations in the insurance market, having bought Axa’s Singapore insurance business for $529mn as recently as 2022. At the time, the bank said the deal would accelerate HSBC’s ambition to be “Asia’s leading insurance and wealth provider”.
But under Elhedery, HSBC has sought to streamline its sprawling global presence.
HSBC said it would net a pre-tax gain of $1.8bn from the disposal, which would lead to a 15 basis-point increase in the group’s common equity tier 1 ratio — a key measure of its financial strength.
As part of the agreement, HSBC and German insurer Allianz will enter a 15-year distribution agreement in which the bank will sell insurance products to its customers. In return for selling Allianz products, HSBC will receive an initial $200mn cash payment.
Earlier this month the FT reported that HSBC had begun to market risky loans made by Hang Seng Bank to investors, in an early sign of how it intends to overhaul the Hong Kong lender it took full control of at the start of this year.
In recent months HSBC has offered debt investors the opportunity to examine Hang Seng’s loan book, according to two people familiar with the process.
Shares in HSBC closed almost 1 per cent lower on Thursday in London but the stock has gained 28 per cent this year, leaving the company valued at £262bn.