HSBC 2009 Annual Report Download - page 147

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Products and services
Personal Financial Services
Personal Financial Services provides 98 million
individual and self-employed customers with
financial services in over 60 markets worldwide.
In markets where HSBC already has scale or, in
emerging markets where scale can be built over
time, HSBC offers its range of personal financial
products and services to all customer segments. In
other markets, HSBC participates more selectively,
targeting only those customer segments which have
strong international connectivity or where HSBC’s
global scale is crucial.
Typically, offerings include personal banking
products (current and savings accounts, mortgages
and personal loans, credit cards, and local and
international payment services) and wealth
management services (insurance and investment
products and financial planning services).
HSBC Premier (‘Premier’) provides premium
banking services to its customers including
personalised relationship management, a single
online view of all international accounts, free
international funds transfer between HSBC accounts,
24-hour priority telephone access, global travel
assistance and wealth management services. There
are now over 3.4 million Premier customers, who
can use more than 370 specially designated Premier
branches and centres in 43 markets.
HSBC Advance offers a range of premium
services including preferential day-to-day and
international banking while allowing solutions to be
customised to meet local requirements.
Wealth management services play an important
part in meeting the needs of customers. Insurance
products distributed by HSBC through its direct
channels and branch networks include life, property
and health insurance as well as pensions and credit
protection. HSBC also makes available a wide range
of investment products. A choice of third-party and
proprietary funds offer customers the ability to
diversify their investments across a range of best-in-
class fund managers chosen after a rigorous and
objective selection process. Comprehensive financial
planning services covering customers’ investment,
retirement, personal and asset protection needs are
offered through qualified financial planning
managers.
Personal customers prefer to conduct their
financial business at times convenient to them, using
the sales and service channels of their choice. This
demand for flexibility is met through the increased
provision of direct channels such as the internet and
self-service terminals, in addition to traditional and
automated branches and service centres accessed by
telephone.
HSBC is a major global credit card issuer with
over 100 million credit cards in force in over
50 markets. In addition to HSBC branded cards, a
number of markets offer co-branded credit cards and
third-party private label cards (or store cards)
through merchant relationships.
High net worth individuals and their families
who choose the differentiated services offered within
Private Banking are not included in this customer
group.
Commercial Banking
HSBC is one of the world’s leading and most
international banks, with over 3 million Commercial
Banking customers in 63 countries and territories,
including sole proprietors, partnerships, clubs and
associations, incorporated businesses and publicly
quoted companies.
HSBC divides its Commercial Banking business
into corporate, mid-market, business banking upper
and business banking mass segments, allowing the
development of tailored customer propositions while
adopting a broader view of the entire commercial
banking sector, from sole traders to top-end
mid-market corporations. This allows HSBC to
provide continuous support to companies as they
grow in size both domestically and internationally,
and ensures a clear focus on the business banking
sectors, which are typically the key to innovation
and growth in market economies.
HSBC places particular emphasis on
geographical collaboration to meet its business
customers’ needs and aims to be recognised as the
leading international business bank and the best bank
for business in target markets. The range of products
and services includes:
Financing: HSBC provides a range of short and
longer-term financing options for Commercial
Banking customers, both domestically and cross-
border, including overdrafts, receivables finance,
term loans and property finance. The Group offers
forms of asset finance in selected sites and has
established specialised divisions providing leasing
and instalment finance for vehicles, plant and
equipment.
Payments and cash management: HSBC is a
leading provider of domestic and cross-border
payments, collections, liquidity management and
account services worldwide. The Group’s extensive