HSBC warns France sale in jeopardy over capital concerns

By Lawrence White

LONDON (Reuters) -HSBC’s planned sale of its French retail banking business to Cerberus-backed My Money Group could fail due to interest rate hikes in France that boosted the amount of capital the buyer will need, the British bank said on Friday.

The potential failure of the deal would undo one of HSBC’s biggest strategic asset sales in recent years, and a key pillar of its plan to exit slow-growth Western markets in favour of Asia.

Unexpected rate hikes have increased the amount of regulatory capital required by the enlarged purchaser after completion, HSBC said.

“Unless this issue is addressed, the purchaserwill be unable to obtain regulatory approval for the Transaction,” HSBC said.

Both sides remain committed to the deal, HSBC said.

My Money did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

HSBC shares were up 2.8% at 1324 GMT, in line with a rally in the broader STOXX European bank index.

The lack of immediate reaction to the announcement could show the market is more focused on HSBC’s bigger $10 billion sale of its Canadian business, which has yet to close, said Viki Farmaki, analyst at State Street Global Advisors.

HSBC announced the proposed France deal in June 2021 at a nominal price of one euro, as part of a retreat from slow-growing European and North American markets where it has struggled against larger domestic players.

The British lender said at the time it would incur a loss of around $2.3 billion on the disposal.

HSBC said that given the uncertainty over the deal closing, it had for now reversed that accounting hit, with a 0.25 percentage point boost to its core capital ratio as a result.

The bank’s sale of its Canadian business could add as much as 1.4 percentage points to that ratio on completion, reflecting its much bigger scale, analysts said.

The French deal would see My Money acquire HSBC’s 244 branches, around 3,900 staff and 24 billion euros in assets in the country, creating what My Money described in June 2021 as a new challenger in France’s crowded retail banking market.

Under the terms of the deal, My Money Group is required to use its best efforts to obtain regulatory approval for the transaction, HSBC said.

But the buyers have said they are unlikely to be able to do this without amending the terms of the deal, HSBC added.

If it does proceed, it is likely to be delayed, HSBC said.

(Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Mark Potter, David Holmes and Jonathan Oatis)