HSBC International Bank

HSBC Holdings was established in 1990 to become the parent company to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in preparation for its purchase of Midland Bank and a change of domicile for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong. Shares in HSBC Holdings were first listed on the London Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1991. The acquisition of Midland Bank giving HSBC a substantial presence in the UK was completed in 1992 and the headquarters of HSBC Holdings moved from 1 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong to 10 Lower Thames Street, London in 1993. Major acquisitions in South America started with the purchase of Banco Bamerindus of Brazil for $1bn in March 1997 and the acquisition of Roberts SA de Inversiones of Argentina for $600m in May 1997. In May 1999 HSBC embarked on a major acquisition in the United States with the purchase of Republic National Bank of New York for $10.3bn. Expansion into Continental Europe took place in April 2000 with the acquisition of Crédit Commercial de France, a large French bank for £6.6bn. In July 2001 HSBC bought Demirbank, an insolvent Turkish bank. Then in August 2002 HSBC acquired Grupo Financiero Bital, SA de CV, Mexico's largest retail bank for $1.1bn. The new headquarters of HSBC Holdings at 8 Canada Square, London officially opened in April 2003. In November 2002 HSBC expanded in the United States acquiring Household International, a US credit card issuer for £9bn. In a 2003 cover story, The Banker noted "when banking historians look back, they may conclude that [it] was the deal of the first decade of the 21st century". Then in September 2003 HSBC bought Polski Kredyt Bank SA of Poland for $7.8m. A terrorist attack took place in November 2003: a bomb blast in Istanbul damaged the bank’s head office in Turkey, causing several deaths and hundreds of injuries. In October 2003 HSBC bought the Bank of Bermuda for $1.3bn. In June 2004 HSBC expanded into China buying 19.9% of the Bank of Communications of Shanghai. In the United Kingdom HSBC acquired Marks & Spencer Retail Financial Services Holdings Ltd for £763m in December 2004. Acquisitions in 2005 included Metris Inc, a US credit card issuer for $1.6bn in August and 70.1% of Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank of Iraq in October.In April 2006 HSBC bought the 90 branches in Argentina of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro for $155m.Later that year, in July HSBC bought Grupo Banistmo, the largest financial services company in Central America, based in Panama for $1.8bn. In December 2007 HSBC acquired The Chinese Bank in Taiwan. In May 2008 HSBC acquired IL&FS Investment, an Indian retail broking firm.