HSBC boosts HK innovation team

HSBC (0005) said yesterday that over 10 staff of its newly formed Innovation Banking, which includes the former Silicon Valley Bank UK, have been assigned to Hong Kong.

The London-based lender bought the UK arm of collapsed SVB for a symbolic one pound (HK$9.84) earlier this year.

HSBC Innovation Banking UK has over 650 employees in the UK and Nordics. In the US, an innovation team of more than 40 has been assembled across the Bay Area, Boston and New York City. In Israel, more than 20 new bankers will be based in Tel Aviv.

And in Hong Kong, around a dozen dedicated bankers are being onboarded to complement HSBC's existing new economy expertise serving Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific.

Chief executive Noel Quinn said the bank now has a world-class team focused on innovation companies, their founders, and their investors. "We will protect this specialism and take it to the next level by combining these capabilities with our financial strength and global reach," Quinn said.

Meanwhile, India's financial crime agency last Friday said notices had been issued to Xiaomi (1810), Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Citigroup over alleged illegal remittances made by the Chinese smartphone giant to foreign entities.

An appellate authority at the Enforcement Directorate issued the show-cause notices for alleged illegal remittances of 55.51 billion rupees (HK$5.27 billion). The funds have been frozen by the agency since last year.

Show cause notices are typically issued to a company to ask it why the federal agency should not proceed to take action against it for wrongdoing.