Friday, Sep 03, 2010
Who will follow? What effect on the economy?
Bbc: HSBC threatens to move headquarters away from London
HSBC may move from London if the UK government decides to break up big banks, a senior executive has said.
Stuart Gulliver, head of the Canary Wharf-based bank's investment banking division, made the warning at a banking conference.
Posted by mark @ 12:00 PM (1553 views) Add Comment
22 Comments
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1. Equitystasher said...
Goodbye then.
The man needs investment banks in this country like he need a hole in the head.
2. khards said...
good ridance to them.
I hope they do split the banks up. If the bankers do win this time around I believe that before long they will strangle the economy so much that in the end it will colapse.
3. Crunchy said...
I think I have used the word blackmail before....
Push them through the mince grinder and get rid of central banks and the notion of globalisation. They don't work.
No more powerplays on pre comprimised governments. Oops!
I know it will not happen, so I'll keep my tinfoil hat thank you Mr Bilderburg.
4. mander said...
Let's see who rules in this country: the banks or the goverment.
Splitting the banks up is the best solution for now although they will find ways around it because lobbyists are helping politicians forget.
5. builditandtheywillcome said...
More attempted blackmail from a bank.Do we think that this country of ours is completely reliant on the financial group?I believe that no more bending should be done for this industry,stand firm and let them throw threats all they like.Enough is enough,if the country has to major struggle for some time to regain it's soul,then i for one am up for this.The bankers model of how things should operate has failed.
Time to back industries that produce real rewards and real money for society.Where are HSBC likely to go??
6. mark said...
China would welcome them with open arms and probably funding
7. Lloyd said...
Off you go then! I think they've cried wolf once too ofen. Bye Bye HSBC!!!!!!
8. Crunchy said...
3. builditandtheywillcome said...'Do we think that this country of ours'
Now that's the extremist spirit bro, that will save us. :)
9. symo said...
See you, non job creating super bank!
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11. builditandtheywillcome said...
Mark,probably bang on the money with the china comment.China has so much finance right now,and will have for the foreseeable future.I bet that once the banks get stuck into them,though,it will only be a matter of time before chinas people hate them as much as we do here now.I think that if government caves in to banks again,i'm off to work in afghanistan or iraq.
12. sj032 said...
I am generally against government tinkering, but the banks are running the show here not the politicians. There is no way, in my opinion at least, that the politicians will take on the bankers - something about biting the hand that feeds you. It pure rhetorical nonsense. I would love the banks to leave, perhaps then their influence on our politicians would weaken and me may finally get some politicians with a back bone. However, enough of dreaming - back to reality with bankers giving ridiculous campaign contributions to politicians and politicians bailing out the bankers whenever the need arises. You scratch mine & i'll scratch yours!!
13. Crunchy said...
Has someone handed out the red pills today Morpheus?
14. The Baldman said...
I suggest they go to China they shoot criminals there!
15. cat and canary said...
..just think of all the airy, high-rise apartments that could fit in the HSBC tower, housing price-out folk from east london!
16. the number cruncher said...
17. Endgame said...
Are they going to move all that gold and silver?
18. clockslinger said...
China is the wrong time zone I'm afraid, given the already massive Eastern presence of HSbc...the name sort of gives a bit of a hint. London or somewhere else similarly located on the lines of longtitude is where they need to be. If they want to threaten to f#ck off, it will probably get the backhanders flying around Whitehall but a move to China,HPCers, is not happening. Not yet at any rate.
19. Karma4all said...
Mark @ 4, I'm not convinced, do they have much need of western talent & do you think the Chinese Goverment's agenda is aligned with this?
20. Blackers said...
I don't work for a bank or financial institution but most of these comments are crass.
HSBC generates huge profits of which circa 2/3rds comes from outside the UK, for which UK citizens get the benefit through the UK gov't corp tax receipts. It also generates substantial employment and to call them all non-jobs if just complete nonsense.
It is also one of the very few banks that hasn't needed bail out money. Why? It has nothing to do with size but to do with cautious banking practice and whilst HSBC did get caught in the US it realised its mistake and got out....unlike the wholly domestic RBS etc
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22. thetidewillturn said...
Wow ...careful lads the viceral hatred towards banks (encouraged by the last Government to deflect justifiable criticism of Labour - via their "blame it on the yanks and the banks" campaign) is oozing from most of your quotes. Please remember HSBC hasn't taken ANY government money in ANY of the countries it operates in - it has continued to make a profit (and therefore pay tax and therfore logically has assisted in the baling out of its own competitors!!!!) for the whole of the first UK recession (please note "first" recession) and it is one of the UK's largest taxpayers and is probably held as shares by all of our pension funds.
To tell it to "xxxx off" brings to mind a quote about cutting off noses to spite a face.
Insert the word "jewish" in front of the word banker and we are in a similar period of hysteria encouraged by politicians to deflect justifiable criticism of those same politicians in a certain country in the 1930's. Not ALL our banks required baling out - just the ones with the word Scottish in the title (or linked to a Scottish bank (lloyds via the suppository it purchased called HBOS) - hang on Scottish prime minister, scottish chancellor, scottish banks - nah couldn't be could it? A generations old plot to get revenge for Culloden!!! - the myth of Scottish "financial prudence" blown away for ever - see we can all start generalising!
Some banks had decent chief executives who could do their job (HSBC / Standard Chartered) and who spread risk across their respective groups. To tar them all with the same brush is VERY short sighted and not the sort of quality of comment I have come to expect from this site which usually has some very intelligent people behind those who post.
Incidentally China I believe is where it would go (Geoghans office has already moved to Hong Kong) - it would still operate in the UK but we would lose one of our largest taxpayers....and guess who would have to pay more to compensate or suffer yet more cuts or watch the value of money disintegrate in front of their eyes as the politicians resorted to the short term easy option (long term ruin) of printing their way out of trouble? - that's right everyone reading this! The longitude argument above is spurious - power is shifting East at a frightening rate.
All HSBC asks is to play on a level playing field - if additional Government regulations come in why should they stay and be penalised for something they didn't do (or couldn't bale themselves out of from their OWN group resources when it went wrong) when another country will welcome them (and the taxes they pay) with open arms without the additional regulation or with the same global regulation but not enhanced by local politicians knee jerk reactions to satisfy the demands of an hysterical public whipped up by an even more hysterical press?
Think before you leap.....its a long way down.