People Moves
Lloyds TSB International Shuts Hong Kong Rep Office
The international arm of UK lender Lloyds TSB, has shut its offshore Hong Kong representative office, as part of a strategy to retreat from regions where it lacks scale.
The international arm of UK lender Lloyds TSB, has shut its offshore Hong Kong representative office, as part of a strategy to retreat from regions where it lacks scale.
The office was closed on 3 February 2012 after the group’s decision to “to “focus on geographies where it can invest and build scale from its existing position”, according to a statement sent to this publication by Lloyds TSB.
“Please note that this closure affects Lloyds TSB Offshore customers only. All other Lloyds Banking Group activities conducted in Asia continues as normal," said the email.
The bank said that existing customers would not be affected and will continue to be serviced by “Lloyds TSB International Offshore Centre in the Isle of Man” and “24/7 banking”, adding that relationships with Asian based intermediaries are now serviced by a “dedicated relationship management team in the Isle of Man”.
Around six jobs were believed to be at risk due to the closure. Reports say four employees have been relocated within the business and two have been made redundant.
It comes as the latest blow for the UK government-backed bank which last week announced a £2.8 billion ($4.41 billion) full-year net loss. In light of the loss - although some underlying performance figures were more positive - Lloyds also said it had cut its bonus pool by 30 per cent. The bank is expected to have eliminated around 4,000 jobs this year as part of chief executive António Horta-Osório’s strategy review.
However Lloyds, which is 41 per cent owned by the UK tax payer, is not alone in shuttering outlying businesses. UK peers HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland have been engaging in various disposals of non-core assets where they lack strength. These include HSBC’s Thai office and Japanese private banking divisions, and RBS’ aviation division and a part of its affluent European wealth management business. Away from the UK, Swiss bank EFG International has been in the process of closing or selling off a number of offices to boost profitability.
