The British banking giant, HSBC, is closing its wealth and personal banking business in New Zealand as part of the latest steps to move away from the less profitable businesses and to focus on the Asian market.

According to a report by Reuters, the London and Hong Kong dual-listed lender said it would maintain its wholesale banking business in New Zealand. The business comprises commercial banking, financial institutions, government as well as markets and securities services.

Changing Dynamics in Global Banking

According to a previous Reuters report, HSBC's Chief Financial Officer, Georges Elhedery, in May said the lender was planning to exit from up to a dozen countries to focus on its operations in Asia. This is even as the multinational investment bank previously shuttered its services in France, Russia, Greece, and Canada.

The closure of New Zealand's section of the bank's business will happen over several years in a phased manner, the publication said in the statement, quoting a spokesperson who added that the lender can "no longer justify investing into this business given the changing operating requirements in the market and scalability of the business."

In light of this, HSBC is reportedly assisting its local clients in New Zealand to transfer their finances to other personal and wealth service providers; and, in the coming weeks, it would operate its business in the region as usual, the spokesperson said.

HSBC Launches Innovation Banking Unit

Besides the shifting focus of HSBC's global business, the lender recently announced that it was launching an innovation division that integrates Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) UK, a subsidiary of the US-based lender SVB that collapsed earlier this year. Dubbed HSBC Innovation Banking, the new division plans to promote companies in the technology sectors.

HSBC UK Bank plc, the subsidiary of the banking giant, acquired SVB UK in March for a symbolic pound. This was after the US authorities ordered the closure of SVB in a move that triggered a global banking crisis, mostly affecting digital assets.

Meanwhile, the US derivatives regulator, Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC), fined HSBC Bank US$45 million in May for what it termed as 'manipulative and deceptive trading' by its traders. On top of that, CFTC faulted the lender for not maintaining proper communication records.

BidFX hires eFX expert; Orbex's prepaid card; read today's news nuggets.