HSBC to sell its business in Argentina

HSBC has announced that it has agreed to sell all of its banking operations in Argentina to Grupo Financiero Galicia.

Grupo Financiero Galicia is one of the largest private financial groups in Argentina. The deal is worth $550m, subject to certain price adjustments. It is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

As a result of the deal a $1b pre-tax loss on disposal will be recognised in Q1 for this year. The completion of deal will result in a lose of $1b for HSBC as banking group continues to withdraw from markets around the world.

This follows a recent trend for HSBC as it leaves numerous markets around the world. HSBC recently completed the sale of its French banking unit and completed the sale of its Canada based operations to RBC.

Noel Quinn, HSBC Group Chief Executive, said: “We are pleased to agree the sale of HSBC Argentina. This transaction is another important step in the execution of our strategy and enables us to focus our resources on higher value opportunities across our international network.”

“HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network. Furthermore, given its size, it also generates substantial earnings volatility for the Group when its results are translated into US dollars.