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The SARB issued the notices in terms of section 30(1)(b)(ii) of the Banks Act, withdrawing consent to operate and marking the official closure of the representative office of the bank.
Section 30 of the Banks Act deals with authorisation for a foreign institution to conduct banking business through a branch, which has now been withdrawn.
The withdrawal is with effect from 1 September 2025. The group had initially set a deadline of 31 October 2025 to finalise it exit from South Africa.
The bank, based in the UK and one of the biggest finance houses in the world, announced in September 2024 that it would be closing up shop in South Africa after 30 years.
The group started its local operations in 1995.
As part of its exit, its client base was transferred and absorbed by FirstRand, which received the necessary regulatory approval for the move in June 2025.
Under the transfer, HSBC’s clients, banking assets, liabilities and employees will be moved to FirstRand, under its corporate and investment franchise, Rand Merchant Bank.
According to FirstRand, the clients of HSBC South Africa are mainly subsidiaries of multinationals operating in the country and some large domestic corporates, making a good fit for RMB.
“This will ensure that the transferred HSBC clients will have ongoing access to corporate and investment
banking services in South Africa,” the group said.
HSBC’s multinational clients headquartered outside of South Africa will continue to have connectivity through HSBC’s global digital channels for account visibility and payment initiation for their South Africa accounts once they have transferred to RMB.
HSBC is one of five international finance groups that have made a move to the door or to downsize their operations in South Africa.
BNP Paribas SA officially closed its corporate and investment bank in South Africa in May 2024.
Barclays Plc and Standard Chartered Plc have both scaled back in Africa, while rival Societe Generale SA is also cutting its footprint on the continent.
Local banks are also trimming or transferring their operations, with Sasfin Bank closing its Business and Commercial Banking (BCB), and Bidvest Bank being offloaded to Nigeria’s Access Bank.
However, even as some banks scale down, new local banks are expected to open at the same time.
Old Mutual’s OM Bank has now officially launched, while several smaller banks are also expected to launch and start trading in 2026 and beyond.
Notably, Sanlam plans to offer banking services to its South African clients from next year as it seeks to grow revenue and gain a foothold in a thriving credit market.
Meanwhile, retail group Shoprite is also looking to take on the banking sector by launching more expansive financial services in the coming years.
Issued on BusinessTech by Staff Writer | https://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/837938/major-international-bank-exits-south-africa/
