HSBC India halves branch network
HSBC India is closing 24 branches across the country due to the rise in digital banking.
Following a “strategic review” of its retail banking and wealth management business in India, it says it will move from 50 branches across 29 cities to 26 branches across 14 cities.
HSBC India says: “This change reflects changes in customer behaviour, who are increasingly using digital channels for their banking.”
Stuart P Milne, group general manager and CEO, HSBC India, adds: “Customer expectations are changing rapidly and we need to adapt accordingly.”
HSBC India says it does not expect any “additional branch consolidation”; and the cuts to the branch network will take place over the coming months in a “phased manner”.
According to the bank, the branches being closed account for less than 10% of HSBC’s retail customer base in India.
The bank also says the closures will affect 1% of its total number of employees in the country, which is around 33,000. HSBC says redeployment opportunities will be offered to those affected.
List of impacted branches (alphabetical order):
Chennai (Adyar Branch); Delhi (Punjabi Bagh and Basant Lok Branch); Guwahati Branch; Indore Branch; Jodhpur Branch; Kolkata (Shakespeare Sarani, Howrah, Ultadanga, New Alipore and Salt Lake Branch); Lucknow Branch; Ludhiana Branch; Mumbai (Thane Branch); Mysore Branch; Nagpur Branch; Nasik Branch; Patna Branch; Pune (Deccan Branch); Raipur Branch; Surat Branch; Trivandrum Branch; Vadodara Branch; Vishakhapatnam Branch.
Cuts and closures
Recently, HSBC announced it will cut 850 information technology jobs in the UK, the first stage of its restructuring plan that will see 8,000 British jobs terminated by the end of 2017.
HSBC set out its three-year restructuring plan last year with clear ambitions in mind – reduce its extended global network, shut down underperforming businesses, and improve earnings.
