HSBC to Keep HQ in London, Decides Against Move to Asia

HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, is staying put.

A woman stands outside of a HSBC branch in Hong Kong on July 8, 2014. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

LONDON—Britain’s biggest bank is staying put.

HSBC Holdings plc said it will keep its headquarters in London, ending a 10-month process in which one of the world’s largest financial companies considered moving to Hong Kong to get closer to its center of gravity in fast-growing Asian economies.

“I think we’ve ended up with the best of both worlds,” HSBC chairman Douglas Flint told the BBC on Monday. “A pivot to Asia, led from London.”

I think we've ended up with the best of both worlds. A pivot to Asia, led from London.

— Douglas Flint, chairman, HSBC