HSBC is in final talks to sell its French retail banking business to Cerberus, a private equity firm, for a token price Reuters reported.
The talks depend on price and terms and may not lead to a sale, a source told Reuters. The planned disposal is part of HSBC boss Noel Quinn’s push to cut costs and get out of underperforming businesses.
HSBC is working with Lazard to sell its 270 retail branches in France but has struggled to drum up interest from potential bidders faced with restructuring costs and complex talks with regulators.
Reuters said the sale would be for a token price and that HSBC would have to inject about 500m to the business to finance a needed restructuring. Cerberus and one other bidder were reported in September to have bid one euro for the business.
Quinn announced a $4.5bn cost-cutting programme in February 2020 but put the plan on hold during the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis. He vowed to increase investor returns by quitting businesses whose performance was unacceptable, reducing risk-weighted assets in Europe by 35% by 2022.
