FirstRand Takes Transfer Of HSBC South Africa Branch

FirstRand Takes Transfer Of HSBC South Africa Branch. FirstRand Limited (FirstRand) the largest financial institution by market capitalisation in Africa, confirms that HSBC Bank plc (HSBC) has agreed to transfer the clients, the banking assets and liabilities and the employees of HSBC’s branch in South Africa (HSBC South Africa) to FirstRand’s wholly owned subsidiary FirstRand Bank Limited (FRB).

The clients of HSBC South Africa are mainly subsidiaries of multinationals operating in South Africa and some large domestic corporates, and therefore the transfer will be led and implemented by FirstRand’s corporate and investment (CIB) banking franchise, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), one of the leading CIB businesses in South Africa and on the broader African continent. This will ensure that the transferred HSBC clients will have on-going access to corporate and investment banking services in South Africa.

HSBC’s multinational clients will continue to have connectivity through HSBC’s global digital channels for account visibility and payment initiation for their South Africa accounts once they have transferred to RMB. HSBC South Africa will service its branch clients until the transfer of the business is completed.

Emrie Brown, Chief Executive Officer, RMB, said: “This transaction delivers further scale to RMB’s corporate client franchise, bringing high quality assets and liabilities with the opportunity to service a valuable client base of domestic corporates and multinationals operating in South Africa and across the continent, which is a key part of RMB’s growth strategy. The transfer also includes the employees of HSBC South Africa which brings strong skills into our business and ensures continued service excellence.”

“We are pleased that RMB’s track record of client focused innovation and attracting and retaining the best talent has been recognised by HSBC, and we are confident that RMB’s capabilities and offerings will meet the needs of these clients.”