TORONTO - HSBC Holdings PLC Tuesday confirmed the possible sale of its Canadian retail brokerage business although no final decision has been made.
In a company release Tuesday, HSBC said "discussions regarding a possible sale" of the full service investment advisory division continue.
The unit houses 120 advisers, and a company official said the potential sale will not involve the online brokerage and trust services which are part of the HSBC's overall wealth management business in Canada.
HSBC's head of wealth management unit in Canada, Tim Pinnington, earlier dismissed rumors of a potential sale to investment advisers, stressing HSBC Holdings Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver's earlier statement that the Canadian business is not for sale.
A company spokeswoman declined to comment on potential buyers, but industry observers see National Bank Financial, a unit of National Bank of Canada, as a good fit given it already serves as a clearing house for HSBC Bank Canada.
HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, has roughly 8,000 employees and more than 260 offices including over 140 bank branches in Canada.
