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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | 1889; 136 years ago (1889) |
| Founder | Imperial Bank of IranPaul Reuter |
| Headquarters | Dubai, UAE |
Key people |
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| Products | Financial services |
| Website | www www |
HSBC Bank Middle East (HBME,Arabic: إتش إس بي سي الشرق الأوسط), known from 1959 to 1999 asBritish Bank of the Middle East (BBME), is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East, fully owned byHSBC. It was founded atTehran,Qajar Iran at 1889 and has successively been headquartered inTehran (1889-1959),London (1959-1999),Jersey (1999-2016), andDubai since 2016.
HBME is regulated by theDubai Financial Services Authority, but remains locally regulated in each of the countries in which it operates by the country's Central Bank and its other regulators.[1]
In 1959, HSBC purchased the London-headquartered British Bank of the Middle East, the formerImperial Bank of Persia that had been renamed in 1952 following expropriation from its historic operations inIran.[2] By then, the BBME had offices inBahrain,Kuwait,Jordan,Lebanon,Libya,Morocco,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,Syria, theTrucial States (laterUAE),Tunisia, andYemen.[3]
During the 1960s and 1970s the bank left Syria, Iraq,South Yemen and Libya after nationalisation of the respective banking sectors.[3] BBME also opened a branch inDjibouti in 1975 that it closed in 1986, having failed to adapt itself to the market.[4] HSBC operated in the Palestinian Territories until 31 December 2015. All operations of HSBC, including personal and commercial banking and headquarters inRamallah, were closed by 31 December 2015.[5]
In 1978, the BBME's operations in Saudi Arabia was transferred to a new venture, theSaudi British Bank, in which HSBC held a minority stake of 40 percent.[3]
In 1999, the BBME's head office was relocated from London toJersey. On that occasion, it was renamed as HSBC Bank Middle East.[3]
In 2013, HSBC Jordan's banking business consisted of four branches with gross assets of approximately $1.2 billion. On 19 June 2014,Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) acquired HSBC Jordan. Almost all employees were expected to transfer to AJIB.[6][7]
In June 2016, the bank again transferred its place of incorporation and head office fromJersey toDubai International Financial Centre, Dubai, UAE.[1][8][9]
On 16 November 2016, HSBC announced the sale of its Corporate, Retail Banking and Wealth Management business in Lebanon toBLOM Bank.[10][11] The sale was completed on 13 June 2017.[12] All employees were transferred to BLOM Bank S.A.L. as part of the agreement.[13]
HSBC has had a presence in Algeria since August 2008 whenHSBC France opened a registered office and branch in Algiers.
In 2009, HSBC France transferred the supervision of the bank to HBME.[14] The bank has two branches located at the cities ofAlgiers (head office) andOran. It offers banking products and services for Corporate, as well as Retail Banking customers.[15]
The Imperial Bank Of Iran first opened a branch in Bahrain in 1944.[16]
The bank's network in Bahrain extends to three locations, including anoffshore banking unit. It is represented by HSBC Middle East Limited (HBME) and is the largest foreign bank in Bahrain. The bank has branches, inManama, Adliya, and Seef, as well as a network of ATMs at 20 different locations.
HSBC provides a range of banking services for both corporate and retail banking customers inBahrain.[16]
In 1982, the BBME took a 40 per cent share in a newly established venture inCairo, namedHong Kong Egyptian Bank S.A.E.[3]In January 1994, Hongkong Egyptian Bank was renamedEgyptian British Bank under the same shareholding structure. The bank took the name HSBC Bank Egypt in April 2001 following an increase in shareholding by the HSBC Group's from 40% to 94.5% of its issuedshare capital.
HSBC started operations inIsrael with a full banking license in 2001, headquartered atRamat Gan.[17]
The Imperial Bank of Iran opened a branch in 1942. It left the country in 1971 following the nationalisation of all foreign bank operations.[18][19]
The bank formally reestablished a presence in Kuwait in October 2005 after receiving a license by Kuwait's Council Of Ministers.[20]
The bank has a branch located in AlHamra Tower, inKuwait City, offering Corporate banking, Investment banking, Private banking and Treasury services.
The Imperial Bank of Iran started operating in the Sultanate in 1948, and for two decades was the only bank operating in the country. The bank assisted in the issuance of the first Omani currency in 1970.[21] It provides a wide range of banking services for both corporate and retail banking customers. In recent years HSBC Oman has expanded to over 90 branches and in addition has a full-service trading operation,private banking operation, and a custodial service for theMuscat Securities Market. In 2012, HSBC merged with Oman International Bank and by the end of 2012 all OIB branches had been rebranded as HSBC Bank Oman S.A.O.G.[22][23][needs update]
The bank has several dedicated 'Premier' Customer Service Centres in Madinat al Sultan Qaboos and Azaiba, in addition to dedicated service areas in certain main branches such as Qurum and Ruwi.
HSBC Bank Oman board members:[21]
HSBC started its operations inPakistan in 1982 with limited presence in three major cities. HSBC's offices in Pakistan were operated byThe Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation initially. In 2008, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation merged its Pakistan banking business with HSBC Bank Middle East Limited.[24] Over the course of next 4 year, it expanded its operations to all major cities of Pakistan and operated as a full-service bank. At its peak, it had 12 offices, 24/7 telephone call centre, and HSBC Premier. The bank also offered NRP (Non-Resident Pakistani) services. Out of its branches, four were located inKarachi, two each inLahore andIslamabad, and one each inRawalpindi,Faisalabad,Sialkot andMultan. All the cities served also offered Premier Centres.
On 9 May 2014, HSBC Bank Middle East (HBME) entered into an agreement to sell its banking business in Pakistan toMeezan Bank, citing strategy of scaling back its operations in markets with limited scale.[25] The transaction, after regulatory and other customary approvals, completed on 14 October 2014.[26] All employees in the business were offered positions with Meezan upon completion.
The BBME initiated its presence in Qatar in 1954.[27] The bank offers a full range of cross-border banking products and services including Retail Banking, Commercial and Global Banking, Wealth Management and Offshore banking. HSBC is the largest foreign bank in Qatar and has three branches in Doha, located at Airport Road, City Center and Salwa, as well as a network of ATMs at 11 locations.
The United Arab Emirates represents a key part of HSBC's business, with 24 branches and offices. It is also the location of HSBC's regional head office.[1]
Source:[28]
On 22 February 2021, the HSBC Group announced a change to its senior management team in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkeyregion.
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