HSBC Holding PLC, Europe's biggest bank by market value, said Wednesday that it will split its global fund management business into two units and withdraw from actively investing in U.S. and Japanese equities.
The London-based banking company said it will form HSBC Investments, a company providing investment funds that track benchmark indexes, and a second investment company focused on Asian equities, emerging markets, and fixed-income products that aims to give investors a positive return even if benchmark indexes decline, according to Richard Lindsay, an HSBC spokesman.
"We're pulling away from Japanese and U.S. equities," Mr. Lindsay said. "There will be a small number of job losses."
HSBC's fund management businesses employ about 2,000 people in 20 countries, the bank said in an e-mailed statement.
