HSBC Bank (Europe)

HSBC Bank (Europe)

HSBC Bank plc is one of the four major clearing banks in the United Kingdom and is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings. The business ranges from the traditional High Street roles of personal finance and commercial banking, to private banking, consumer finance as well as corporate and investment banking. Across all brands the bank operates some 1800 sites in the UK.

The UK headquarters of HSBC are at HSBC Tower, 8 Canada Square in the Canary Wharf area of east London. This building is also home to HSBC Group's headquarters, and houses some 8,000 staff over 42 levels.

HSBC Bank Plc is the only one of Britain's big five banks to hold more deposits than loans (loan:deposit ratio of 90%). This has led to the bank being seen as a less risky proposition than the other banks by investors and customers, as it is able to fully fund its own operations. It has also contributed to the company's share price maintaining value throughout the credit crunch, unlike other banks in the market.