The UK banking exodus has started heating up, as lenders contemplate moves to Dublin, Frankfurt, and more recently, Amsterdam. Others have opted to focus on a different continent entirely, moving large portions of their business to Asia. HSBC has continued its trend of offshoring its personnel into Asia, culminating in over new 1,000 jobs being created, per a Reuters report.
Back in January, HSBC moved upwards of 200 IT jobs to Asia, which coincided with the closure of nearly 62 branches in the UK. IT and back office jobs have been among the hardest hit in the UK as the mounting cost of labor has created a bottleneck for these roles, facilitating broad cuts or relocations.
Long-term trend?
As banks struggle to retain profitability, many lenders have resorted to sweeping cuts in their personnel or a more ‘lean and mean’ strategy that features reduced bonuses, branches, and trading desks. A shift to Asia helps take advantage of lower labor costs, while still building upon existing operations in the region.
The latest expansion of HSBC in Asia will see nearly 1,000 new jobs created in its Chinese retail banking and wealth management arm in 2017. Hoping to take advantage of growth in the region, the country has become a oasis for moribund UK lenders struggling to meet revenues and profit targets.
The new 1,000 workers will join HSBC’s existing team of 2,400 employees in China, mostly in the Pearl River Delta region, one of China’s largest and most populated locales. Its wealth management arm in the region will be instrumental to HSBC’s long-term plans, which if successful, could continue to see an uptick of hires as it deals with the rigors of Brexit .
