HSBC Bank Australia
HSBC Bank Australia Limited is the Australian subsidiary of HSBC. The bank offers a wide range of financial services in Australia through a network of 36 branches and offices. These services include retail and commercial banking, financial planning, trade finance, treasury, and financial markets, payments and cash management, and securities custody.
HSBC Bank Australia was granted a banking licence in 1986, although the bank had originally established an Australian presence as Hongkong Finance Ltd in 1964. It is a foreign bank in Australia, offering a wide range of banking products and services to the retail, commercial, corporate and institutional sectors.
The bank's headquarters is located in Barangaroo, a suburb in central Sydney.
History
HSBC was granted an Australian banking licence in 1986 after the Australian federal government changed the rules to allow foreign banks into the country. HSBC was not the first foreign bank to enter Australia, the first was Chase-AMP, but HSBC was one of the first foreign entrants into the business banking sector.- 1986 — launched Commercial Financial Services
- 1991 — launched Personal Financial Services
- 1992 — began to be profitable after several years of losses
- 1995 — introduced discount home loans in Australia
- 1997 — introduced telephone banking and credit cards
- 1998 — established HSBC InvestDirect Limited
- 2001 — acquired NRMA Building Society Limited
- 2005 — sold Australian asset management business to Challenger Financial Services
- 2006 — sold broker-originated mortgage book to Firstmac
- 2008 — established Global Investments business
Products and services
Bank accounts
HSBC offers a wide range of bank accounts in Australia, including transaction and savings accounts, term deposits, and foreign currency accounts.All of HSBC's transaction accounts include a linked Visa Debit card, fee-free access to over 3000 ATMs Australia-wide, which include those from HSBC and banks that offer access to fee-free ATMs, access to mobile and internet banking, and are rated 5 stars for outstanding value by Canstar.
HSBC Premier, which is available in Australia and other markets within the HSBC Group, is a premium banking service that is available for its wealthy clients and includes a personal financial planning service, an online share trading platform, and SMSF assistance to advise upon all types of personal and business investments.