HSBC Holdings Plc’s largest shareholder has kept up the pressure on the bank to revamp its business as it called for a “strategic restructuring” of the lender, just weeks before its annual shareholder meeting.
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc’s largest shareholder has kept up the pressure on the bank to revamp its business as it called for a “strategic restructuring” of the lender, just weeks before its annual shareholder meeting.
Ping An Insurance Group Co. publicly called for the creation of “a separately listed Asia business headquartered in Hong Kong,” in a statement Tuesday. “It is necessary for HSBC to push for structural reform to fundamentally address HSBC’s underlying market competitiveness issues, improve performance, enhance value and accelerate growth opportunities in Asia.”
The more than 2,000-word statement offers the most detailed insight yet into Ping An’s stance on HSBC and underlines the increasingly fractious relationship between Europe’s largest bank and one of its most important investors.
“Over the past two years, PAAMC has shared numerous structural suggestions to HSBC management ranging from listing the HSBC Asia business in Hong Kong to consolidating Asia businesses,” Michael Huang, chairman of Ping An Asset Management said in the statement. “Despite sharing multiple suggestions with HSBC, we have been extremely disappointed by HSBC management’s consistent closed-minded attitude to all solutions.”
Huang said HSBC had refused to engage “verbally” in discussion about Ping An’s proposals. The latest sally comes about a year after the Chinese insurer was first publicly identified as behind a campaign to push the London-headquartered lender to consider a break-up of its business.
Read More: HSBC Eyes More Deals as Bank Looks to Move On From Breakup Talk
“It is our judgment, supported by third-party financial and legal advice, and with third-party assurance, that alternative structural options will not deliver increased value for shareholders,” a spokesperson for HSBC said. “Rather, they would have a material negative impact on value.”
Deeply Concerned
The insurer said in a statement it remains “deeply concerned” about HSBC’s performance, noting its results of late had been largely buoyed by rising interest rates and were sub par when compared to similar banks.
While Huang said Ping An was heartened by recent improvements in HSBC’s recent results and exits from operations including Canada and US retail banking, the firm remains “deeply concerned about HSBC on five fronts.”
Those include its ability to continue to improve performance after interest rates peak, an excessive cost base and too much focus on non-Asia businesses.
Huang also said that HSBC was misrepresenting the potential costs of the Ping An proposals.
“This prejudice was highlighted in the HSBC’s 2022 interim results presentation where management listed 14 reasons why a break up would destroy material value,” Huang said in the statement. “Not only did management refuse to countenance any benefits but also, in our view, exaggerated many of the costs and risks.”
Read More: Ping An Calls on HSBC to Cut Costs, Blasts Expat Executives
Ping An’s latest intervention comes in the run-up to HSBC release next month of its first quarter results, which will be followed days later by its annual shareholder meeting. Ping An plans to vote for two resolutions at the bank’s AGM that would require the company to publish regular updates on its Asian business, as well as restoring its dividend to its pre-pandemic level, a person familiar with the matter has said.
‘Overly Prescriptive’
HSBC has said shareholders should vote against the resolutions.
Shareholder adviser Glass, Lewis & Co. has also recommended that stock investors vote against the two resolutions.
“In our view, the board’s strategy and plans appear valid and are likely to result in greater returns and value, on a risk- and cost-adjusted basis, than the overly prescriptive and, in our opinion, unnecessary proposals submitted by the proponent,” Glass Lewis said in a report.
–With assistance from Zhang Dingmin and Adam Haigh.
(Adds detail from proxy adviser in last paragraph)
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