HSBC to sell private banking business in Japan for 2.7 bln USD

Banking giant HSBC said Wednesday in a statement that the company and HSBC Securities ( Japan) Limited, wholly-owned subsidiaries of HSBC, have entered into an agreement to sell HSBC's private banking business in Japan to Credit Suisse AG and Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Limited. The deal is worth about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars at Oct. 31, 2011. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to complete during the second quarter of 2012 and represents further progress in the execution of HSBC's strategy outlined at the Investor Day in May 2011, according to HSBC's statement. As the world's third largest economy, with significant trade flows with the rest of the world, Japan continues to be an important market for HSBC, it said. HSBC, headquartered in London, serves customers worldwide from around 7,500 offices in over 80 countries and regions. With assets of 2.72 trillion U.S. dollars at Sept. 30, 2011, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations.