The birth of a bank
HSBC was born from one simple idea – a local bank serving international needs. In March 1865, HSBC opened its doors for business in Hong Kong, helping to finance trade between Europe, Asia and the Americas.
We have been supporting our customers for over 160 years. Today, we serve around 41 million personal, wealth and corporate customers worldwide in 56 countries and territories.
The experiences of the past over 160 years have formed the character of HSBC. A glance at our history explains why we believe in capital strength, in strict cost control and in building long-term relationships with customers.
The bank has weathered change in all forms – revolutions, economic crises, new technologies – and adapted to survive. The resulting corporate character enables HSBC to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Supporting customers through crisis and calm
HSBC Brand history 2026
Duration: 2:23
[Narrator]
They say a picture speaks a thousand words.
At HSBC, we have thousands of pictures.
Each one telling a part of our story that crosses continents and spans centuries.
We started in Hong Kong in 1865.
But we were born international.
To finance trade between East and West.
Our business travelled oceans.
Our network crossed borders.
And our relationships with customers passed down generations.
Our global success is based on local expertise, knowledge of different cultures and customs and our deep international network.
When you bank with us, you can bank on us. Being there through highs and lows, crisis and calm, through shocks and shifts.
From industrial revolutions, to digital ones.
We've been built to last.
To navigate a changing world
[Text on screen]
[Screen reader] “Current account”
[Narrator]
and help our customers navigate it too.
Putting customers at the heart of everything we do is what we've always done.
And trust us when we say your trust means everything.
One of our first clients from 1865 is still with us today.
That's not just business, that's true partnership.
[Lion roars]
For more than 160 years, a modern, ambitious organisation is what we've always been.
Today, our world is more connected and complex than ever.
But our purpose is simple: Opening up a world of opportunity.
As we've done from the start.
Now and into the future.
[Text on screen]
HSBC | Opening up a world of opportunity
© HSBC Group 2026
HSBC's archives come to life to tell our enduring story – a story that crosses continents and spans centuries.
History timeline
Learn how a local Hong Kong bank became one of the world’s largest financial services organisations.
Our history in depth
Visit the HSBC History website to explore the bank’s rich and colourful heritage in depth, and access our unique archives.
Our iconic red hexagon
Henry Steiner - the Hex
Duration: 00:01:52
Speakers:
-
Henry Steiner, Graphic Designer
LinkedIn (opens in new window)
[Man]
You would recognise it anywhere.
We call it the Hexagon.
But where did it come from?
[Henry]
It belongs to the bank.
All you have to do is blink and see it, and you know what it’s about.
[Man]
Meet Henry Steiner.
[Text on screen]
Henry Steiner
[Man]
He moved to Hong Kong in the 1960s and became known as the father of Hong Kong Graphic Design.
[Henry]
My company’s name at that time was Graphic Communication.
That’s how I think of graphic design as communication.
And it was just, what are you trying to say? Who are you trying to say it to?
[Man]
HSBC’s brand was ready for a refresh and Steiner was up for the job.
His first HSBC projects were Annual Reports and bank magazines.
He then started working on the bank’s corporate identity.
[Henry]
Identity is personality.
[Man]
In 1983, he created this style guide and the Hexagon was born.
[Henry]
There was a consistency of the colour and the format, and I’m very proud of this book.
It was a challenge.
That’s what I like about this work.
[Man]
In honour of the bank’s early Scottish leaders, it was partly inspired by the flag of Saint Andrew.
[Henry]
To make it easy to put against backgrounds, we put in two more triangles, and then it can be put anywhere.
It should stay around.
In fact, I think it’s impossible to get rid of it.
[Man]
The Hexagon now inspires everything we do.
It’s here.
It’s there.
It is HSBC.
[Text on screen]
HSBC | Opening up a world of opportunity
© HSBC Group 2026
Our hexagon sits proudly on our headquarters, our branches, our bank cards... it is HSBC. In this video, Henry Steiner – the man who created our enduring visual identity – explains what inspired his design. For more information and to trace the journey our logo has taken from its origins as a simple red and white flag, through to its transformation into an iconic global brand, please visit the HSBC and the Hexagon exhibition
Back to the future
Lord Norman Foster, the architect of our Hong Kong HQ, returns to the building 40 years after it opened – and reflects on how its “radical” concept inspired future developments.
Content last updated: 03 August 2026