The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition some analysts believe TD Bank and Royal Bank of Canada are among lenders that would find London-based HSBC Holdings PLC's Canadian operations attractive if they came up for sale.
A Bloomberg dispatch to the Posts quotes Sohrab Movahedi at BMO Capital Markets as saying in a note, "If HSBC Canada were up for sale, we believe the Canadian banks are well positioned and all are likely very interested to capitalize on such a rare in-market opportunity." U.K.-based Standard Life on Sept. 3 agreed to sell its Canadian unit to Manulife Financial for about $4-billion. That led Canaccord Genuity analyst Gabriel Dechaine to ask whether HSBC might revisit options for its Canadian unit.
"When scanning the landscape of foreign-owned financial services companies in Canada, HSBC stands out," Mr. Dechaine said in a Sept. 4 note, adding that Royal Bank, TD and Bank of Nova Scotia would be the "likeliest acquirers." HSBC has 145 branches and more than 5,500 workers in Canada.
"We're a very strong, well-run organization in one of the world's best markets, which is exactly why we have no intention of selling," said Kimberly Flood, an HSBC spokesman in Toronto.
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