Overview 1
Catalyst 1
Summary 1
Table of Contents 2
Table of figures 3
Table of tables 4
HSBC 5
Key findings 5
Company overview 5
Background 5
Ownership and management 5
HSBC Holdings board of directors 6
Employees 7
Management values 7
Company structure 8
HSBC is reshaping its business models to drive a winning business 9
Internally, the group is divided by geography and product line supplemented by its global product platforms 10
Geographic coverage 13
Historically, HSBC expanded through acquisition but recently it has diversified its strategy to include partnership and organic growth 13
Card statistics 19
Number of cards in issue 19
Balances outstanding 24
Key financials 25
Profit and loss account 25
Balance sheet 28
Product overview 29
Card product offering 29
Credit cards 29
Debit cards 31
Private label 31
Product innovation 32
Distribution 33
Company outlook 34
Harmonization of card operations globally will likely lead to much needed growth in HSBC's card portfolio 34
The US and Europe: unwinding of the financial system and the economy pose a challenge for the group 34
Emerging markets: increasingly strong drivers for growth for the group's international card business 35
Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America: important drivers of growth for the group 35
CEE: offers a significant potential for cards and should not be overlooked by the group 36
Datamonitor Competitor Benchmark 37
APPENDIX 40
Definitions 40
Co-branded card 40
Commercial card 40
Corporate card 40
Credit card 40
Private label card 40
Purchasing cards 40
Supplementary data 41
Methodology 43
Further reading 43
Ask the analyst 44
Datamonitor consulting 44
Disclaimer 44
List of Tables
Table 1: HSBC Holdings board of directors and key employees, 2008 6
Table 2: Important subsidiaries in the HSBC Group and their primary areas of operation, 2008 8
Table 3: HSBC's key global acquisitions in the card space, 1999-2008 14
Table 4: HSBC's Asia Pacific card portfolio segmented by country, 2003-07 23
Table 5: HSBC's operating income segmented by division, 2003-07 27
Table 6: HSBC's operating income segmented by geography, 2003-07 27
Table 7: HSBC's PFS operating income segmented by geography, 2003-07 28
Table 8: Scorecard logic, part one 38
Table 9: Scorecard logic, part two 39
Table 10: The HSBC group's revenue, cost and profit, 2003-07 41
Table 11: The HSBC group's assets, 2003-07 41
Table 12: HSBC's credit card portfolio segmented by country, 2007 41
Table 13: HSBC's card portfolio segmented by country/region, 2003-07 42
Table 14: HSBC's card balances outstanding, 2003-07 42
Table 15: Current relevant publications 43
Table 16: Future relevant publications 44
List of Figures
Figure 1: The HSBC Group structure of principal operating companies as at December 2007 9
Figure 2: HSBC's 'One Group, One Goal, One HSBC' vision to be achieved by 2010 10
Figure 3: A representation of HSBC's business lines and global product platforms, 2008 12
Figure 4: HSBC's global credit card issuing locations, 2008 13
Figure 5: HSBC's global credit card portfolio is dominated by its presence in the US market, 2007 20
Figure 6: HSBC has enjoyed steady growth in its credit card portfolio in Asia, 2003-07 22
Figure 7: The US is the largest market in terms of card balances outstanding, 2007 25
Figure 8: HSBC has demonstrated strong growth in profit over 2003-07 26
Figure 9: HSBC holds close to €1.7 trillion in assets, 2003-07 29
Figure 10: HSBC's Green Credit Card advocates green spending to consumers in Hong Kong, 2008 32
Figure 11: The HSBC Group Competitor Benchmark, 2008 37