HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's biggest bank, said it prefers to keep its headquarters in London, amid speculation the lender is preparing to quit the U.K.
HSBC is planning to move its base back to Hong Kong because of Britain's growing tax and regulatory burdens, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing unidentified investors.
HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint and Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said that talk of "imminent change" was "entirely speculative and presumptuous." HSBC is "being increasingly asked by shareholders and investors about the likely additional cost of being headquartered in the U.K.," Flint and Gulliver said in an e-mailed statement Sunday. "We are very clear that London's competitive position deserves protection, and HSBC will play a full part in this. We are encouraged by the U.K. government's recent commitments to do the same."
"We have been very clear that it is our preference to remain headquartered here," Flint and Gulliver said.
