HSBC to stop Shariah-compliant products in UK
08 Oct 2012
HSBC Holdings Plc said it would stop selling Shariah-compliant products in the UK, the UAE, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Singapore and Mauritius adding the bank would continue offering wholesale Islamic financing in the countries.
According to the company the change was part of the company's review into its businesses, it said in an e-mailed statement today.
According to Patrick Humphris, HSBC spokesman who spoke to Bloomberg in a phone interview, the lender was facing local competition in the businesses it chose to exit, which represented 17 per cent of the bank's Islamic business.
He said these were smaller markets where it did not have sufficient scale. He added the lender did face tough competition.
The bank said in a statement it would focus its Islamic finance offering in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia and would also continue to offer Islamic bonds or sukuk products through its operations in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
The bank is the world's biggest sukuk underwriter topping the league table ahead of Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd after handling sales valued at $10 billion.