Background Information
Banks are financial institutions. From a customer's perspective, a bank
is a combination of financial products, services and distribution systems that
satisfy his or her needs. Whereas from the bank's point of view, it is dealing
with sellers and tellers, communicating with customers, process into their
cheques, setting their rates, designing new systems and much more. As the banks
improve their services and satisfy the customer’s requirement, a great degree
of success is achieved. HSBC Holdings plc (commonly known as HSBC)
is a British multinational banking and
financial
services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. As of
2012, it was the world's third-largest bank and sixth-largest public company .HSBC, the fastest growing bank, is considered good example of
successful bank present in Oman currently. HSBC is one of the
leading financial services providers in the country. It was founded in 1991 by
Sir Thomas Sutherland. Even though, they are new in the economy industry, they
have made enormous improvement since they started. Moreover, regarding HSBC
logo, the hexagon symbol was originally adopted by The Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation as its logo in 1983. It was developed from the bank’s house
flag, a white
rectangle divided diagonally to produce a red hourglass shape. HSBC employees are approximately 267,000 workers
and they high-skilled. The local competitors are; bank Muscat, bank Dhofar and
OIB. In addition to that, the bank offer multi services that target Omanis and
foreign. Unfortunately, their services do not reach children needs. HSBC is a universal bank and is organized
within four business groups: Commercial Banking; Global Banking and Markets, Retail
Banking and Wealth Management; and Global Private Banking. It is also provide privilege banking services and Loans: home improvement, chilled graduation and buying car. In
addition to that, the financial statement between 2009 & 2010 shows
increasing in certain point such as income and profit. Moreover, HSBC has
around 7,200 offices in 85 countries and territories across Africa, Asia,
Europe, North America and South America, and around 89 million customers. The
purpose of this report is to highlight some information about the global bank
HSBC and investigated its progress.
This report will shed some light on the HSBC background information, the
board of director in Oman, HSBC services
and operation, HSBC approaches, the bank value & business principle, HSBC
in the community and HSBC awards.
Mission &
Vision:
Vision and
Mission Statements are the inspiring words chosen by successful companies to
clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization. HSBC s ' vision
is "we aim to
be where the growth is, connecting customers to opportunities, enabling
businesses to thrive and economies to prosper and, ultimately, helping people
to fulfill their hopes and realize their ambitions”.
History
(1865- 2000)
HSBC was found in British Colony of Hong Kong by Scotsman Sir Thomas
Sutherland on March 3 1865 and in Shanghai on month later. Moreover, it
acquired a 51% shareholding in (Marine Midland Bank), which expended it
ownership in 1987. HSBC was established in United kingdom in 1991 as a parent
company to” Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation”.
(2000- 2010)
The most important events in this period: the bank has expend to Europe
in 2000 with acquisition of large French bank for 6.6 £ billion. In addition to, that it acquired many banks such as:
Demirbank, Turkish Bank, Grupo Financiero Bital.
(2010 to present)
The essential things happened from 2010 till this year: is in 2011 new
chief executive Stuart Gulliver announced that HSBC would refocus in its
business strategy, particularly in the respect of the retail sector. Moreover,
in Oman HSBC has merged with OIB Oman International Bank in June 2011,where
HSBC holds 51% of the combined entity. The merge came to create a major player
in Oman banking sector.
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS IN OMAN
The Bank’s
Board of Directors are the highest leading authority within management
structure where their role is to ensure that the Bank conducts itself in
agreement with its core values and develops them further on a continuous and
sustainable basis.
v Here is our Board of Directors: (effective 3 June 2012)
·
Simon
Cooper, Chairman
·
Waleed Omer
Abdul Monem Al Zawawi, Deputy Chairman
·
Abdulfattah
Sharaf, Director
·
Dr Juma Ali
Juma Al Juma, Director
·
Aimen Ahmed
Sultan Al Hosni, Director
·
David
Kotheimer, Director
·
Francesca
Mcdonagh , Director
·
OPERATIONS
HSBC has its
world headquarters in London. HSBC represent about one third of its business in
the world’s major financial markets. It is the largest bank in Hong Kong and
print’s most of their local currency. In 2008 as Forbes magazine
mentioned, that HSBC was the second largest bank in terms of revenue and the
firs in terms of the market value. Moreover, the bank was ranked as the largest
banking group in the world since 2005.In addition, The Banker magazine
named HSBC the world's most valuable banking brand in 2008.
HSBC Services
To organize
the customer-facing activities, HSBC have four business groups: Commercial
Banking; Global Banking and Markets (investment banking); Retail Banking and
Wealth Management; and Global Private Banking.
- Commercial Banking: here HSBC provide financial services to
small, medium-sized and middle-market
enterprise. Sole proprietors and partnership are examples of commercial
banking customers.
- Global Banking & Markets: It
provides investment banking and financing solutions for corporate and
institutional clients, including corporate banking, investment banking,
capital markets, trade services, payments and cash management, and
leveraged acquisition finance. It provides services in equities, credit
and rates, foreign exchange, money markets and securities services, in
addition to asset management services.
Global Banking and Markets spread
their offices in more than 80 countries around the world.
- Retail Banking and Wealth Management: here
HSBC provide current and savings accounts, mortgage loans, car financing,
insurance, credit cards, loans, pensions and investments to more than 100
million customers worldwide.
- Private Banking: HSBC
Private Bank offers private banking and wealth management services to
wealthy individuals and their families
- Private Banking Services HSBC helps customers to:
·
Mange their
wealth by day-to-day banking and credit requirements and provide expert
advice in specialist advisory services.
·
Develop and protect your wealth for the
future by securing the financial future of the
customer, and in finding new sources of wealth most appropriate to customer
needs and interests
·
Manage the impacts of wealth.
HSBC
Approaches
HSBC is
cornered largely on its sustainable activities, which gives the opportunity of
running the business for a long term. HSBC sustainability is run through its
investing in customer relationship, ensuring that its governance is healthy and
manage the risk that derive HSBC for
more environmental protection and socio-economic development. Day to day
activities are managed to hold up individual and organization to achieve their
financial goals, push up employment, pay taxes in the operated countries and increase
the communities investment throughout education and environmental
programs. On the other hand, the
sustainability inside the business is operated through a chain of different
HSBC’s branches around the world. Each local chairman share the reports to the
group head of corporate sustainability represented by the group human resources
who responsible for sustainability on behalf of the group Chief Executive and
HSBC holding board. In implementing sustainability, Policies and operational
procedures are playing role of countering reputation risk in internal control
system in HSBC board. These principles are carrying many aspects, it is
summarized in information securities, social environmental impact, employee
relation, counter-terrorism financing to anti corruption measure and ranging
for many laundering deterrence. Also, HSBC have voluntarily agreed to abide by
a number of external codes of conduct represented as international commitment.
First, Equator principle which is a guidelines that provide common framework to
address the environmental and social issue that arise in n financial projects.
Second, Extractive industries transparency initiative which is a global
standard for transparency developed to counter misuse of payments to
governments for mineral rights and mining. Third, UNEP Finance Initiative, HSBC is one
of the founder signatories of the UNEP Finance Initiative, a global
partnership between UNEP and the financial sector working to understand the
impacts of environmental and social considerations on financial performance.
Forth, HSBC is a founding member in Wolfs berg Principles, which is an association of 11
global banks which aims to develop financial services industry standards and
related products for know your customer, anti-money laundering and
counter-terrorist financing policies. Finally, HSBC has expressed its support
for the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 2004,
which announced in 1948, this set out for the first time fundamental human
rights to be universally protected.
HSBC
Values and Business Principles
HSBC
values and business principles are the
guideline for the company’s strategies
and commercial decisions. Both, the values and the principles define the HSBC
character, they express how the business is doing, what strategy plan to be implement, the employee day to day
activities, employee commitment and ethical standard in making decisions. For
example, Dependable and do the right thing, open to
different ideas and cultures, Connected to customers, communities, regulators
and each other, Financial Strength, Risk-Management, Performance-focus and
Quality. HSBC’s values and principle are
carefully balanced with commitments and all its stockholders
such us, customer, employee, Communities and societies … etc.
HSBC
In The Community
HSBC plays a
significant role in the Omani Community. HSBC is dedicated to an active
Corporate Social Responsibility program which includes support for educational,
environment, and community projects.
·
Education:
ü HSBC Oman Sponsors JA More than Money: in this program student learn and
trained on entrepreneurship through academically enriching, and experiential learning sessions
in economic education
ü HSBC Supports Vocational Training to Underprivileged Women
ü Kid's Read: having
workshops for English language teachers led by experienced British Council
trainers to focus on how to use stories in class.
·
Charity
organizations
ü Dar
Al Atta Charitable Organization: HSBC supported this local charity
organization by providing uniforms, school
supplies and meals to underprivileged students in local public schools for this
academic year
ü Support
the Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children
ü Support Al Noor Association for the Blind - Sohar
·
Environment
ü ESO's Frankincense Project: The
objective of this project is to identify the cuts needed to obtain the
Oblibanum with minimal adverse effects on the tree and its seeds, to
disseminate the result of harvesters to agencies, ministry of Agriculture and
individual farmers, and to spread long-term awareness and education in schools.
ü Musandam Diving Biosphere Expedition: It is a
project HSBC And Biosphere work together to study and protect the beautiful
reefs of the Musandam Peninsula.
Awards:
HSBC has made enormous improvements since it started. Therefore, it
received several awards. In 2012, it was awarded by different organization such
as Latin Finance Awards, Euro- money Rates Survey 2012, Capital markets Daily
Bond Awards 2012, Trade Finance magazine Awards, Asia-money Best Bank Awards
2012, Finance Asia Country Awards, The Banker Investment Banking Awards and
many others. These awards were given as result of excellence in terms of
investment, services, best sales, most flexible bank, best bonds, effective
strategies, great achievements, efficiency and many other sections.