HSBC France - CCF Joins The HSBC Group

CCF Joins The HSBC Group

When HSBC acquired CCF, CCF was operating with 650 branches and assets of €69 billion. In April 2000, HSBC Holdings plc announced its intention to acquire the bank and completed the deal in July. That month, HSBC Holdings plc listed on the Paris Stock Exchange for the first time. The acquisition enabled HSBC to establish itself in one of the main European markets and to build a strong platform in the euro zone. CCF continued to expand with the purchase of Banque Pelletier (2000) and Banque Hervet (2001). CCF won a bidding-war for Banque Hervet, which the French government was re-privatizing, when its bid of $480 million beat out bids from Paribas, Credit du Nord - Dexia, and insurer Groupama.

With the acquisition of CCF, HSBC acquired CCF's stake in Lombard Bank in Malta. At the time, HSBC already owned the largest bank in Malta. In 2002, HSBC sold its shares in Lombard Bank Malta to Swiss-based Banca Unione di Credito.

CCF also sold its 93.3 per cent stake in Crédit International d’Egypte (CIE), an Egyptian commercial bank listed on the Cairo Stock Exchange, to Crédit Agricole Indosuez (75%) and the El Mansour and El Maghraby groups (25%). HSBC was already operating in Egypt through HSBC Bank Egypt.

In 2002, CCF acquired 11 branches outside Paris from Banque Worms/Deutsche Bank.