8 September 2004
HSBC has been voted 'Global Bank of the Year' by The Banker magazine for an unprecedented third consecutive year.
The magazine stressed the importance of both the Household and Bital acquisitions to HSBC's success this year, also highlighting the Group's record interim results of US$9.4 billion in pre-tax profits.
The Banker also noted the Group's expansion in India, Bermuda and Brazil and the recent purchase of a 19.9 per cent stake in Bank of Communications, China's fifth largest bank.
Group Chairman Sir John Bond said: "We are honoured to have won global bank of the year for the third year running. HSBC has continued to make good progress during the last 12 months in harnessing the strengths of our businesses across all geographical regions and all our customer groups. The award recognises this and is a measure of the talents and dedication of my colleagues throughout HSBC. It will encourage us to redouble our efforts to serve our shareholders and our customers around the world."
The magazine said: "The integration of Household has produced better-than-expected growth and profits and the US business is likely to grow in importance, while HSBC believes that China, India, Brazil and Mexico will become increasingly important to the global economy. In a recent UK development, HSBC is partnering with retailer Marks & Spencer Group and acquiring 100% of Marks & Spencer's retail Financial Services.
"With strong earnings growth across the globe, combined with new strategic acquisitions and expanded investment banking activities, HSBC is deservedly global bank of the year for the third year in a row."
This is the latest in a number of prestigious awards HSBC has won in 2004. These include being named the 'World's Best Bank' by Euromoney magazine, being ranked 7th in Forbes magazine's list of the 'World's 2,000 Biggest Companies' and being named the 'Most Admired Corporate Brand' by Asiamoney magazine.
Related links
