International bank calls it quits after three decades in South Africa

The Reserve Bank’s Financial Surveillance Department has cancelled HSBC Bank’s Johannesburg branch’s appointment as an authorised dealer in foreign exchange.

This cancellation took effect immediately, marking the end of one of the bank’s last ties to South Africa as it exits the local market.

In an Exchange Control Circular Notice released on 15 May, the Reserve Bank Financial Surveillance Department said HSBC Bank’s name would be removed from certain sections of South African regulations.

This includes the Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers and the Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers in foreign exchange with limited authority.

HSBC Bank formally established a presence in South Africa a year or so after the end of apartheid. However, unlike many other large commercial banks, it did not set up a wide-reaching retail branch network.

Rather, the company operated as a foreign bank branch, focusing on large corporates, trade financing, and private banking.

The group was known to serve large local corporations and South African subsidiaries of global multinational companies.

In September 2024, HSBC Bank announced that it plans to exit South Africa as part of a multi-year restructuring plan by Europe’s largest lender.

This plan involved shedding non-core, lower-growth assets, which included South Africa, as well as certain markets in Europe, the Americas, and other sub-Saharan African countries. The group is now honing in on higher growth markets like Asia.

Since the announcement, HSBC has gone through several processes to sever its ties with South Africa, including handing over its corporate branch business to FirstRand’s RMB.

The group also transferred its global equities and securities business to Absa, ensuring the bank’s clients maintain seamless access to the South African market.

This winding down of HSBC’s South African interests has taken place over several years, largely concluding in May 2026 when the full sale and transfer to FirstRand was completed.

With the Reserve Bank’s 15 May notice, HSBC has effectively closed the chapter on its physical presence in South Africa.

HSBC is among several international banks to have severed or limited its presence in South Africa over the past few years, including BNP Paribas and Barclays.