FirstRand, Africa’s largest financial institution by market capitalisation, has announced that it will acquire the clients, banking assets, liabilities, and employees of HSBC Bank plc’s (HSBC) South African branch.
The transfer will be made to FirstRand’s wholly owned subsidiary, FirstRand Bank Limited (FRB).
HSBC South Africa primarily serves subsidiaries of multinational companies operating in the country, as well as some major domestic corporates.
The transition will be led by FirstRand’s corporate and investment banking division, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a prominent player in both South Africa and the broader African market.
This move will ensure that HSBC’s clients continue to receive corporate and investment banking services in South Africa.
HSBC’s global digital channels will remain accessible to multinational clients for account management and payment initiation in South Africa post-transfer. Until the transition is finalized, HSBC South Africa will continue servicing its branch clients.
Emrie Brown, Chief Executive Officer of RMB, commented: “This transaction delivers further scale to RMB’s corporate client franchise, bringing high quality assets and liabilities with the opportunity to service a valuable client base of domestic corporates and multinationals operating in South Africa and across the continent, which is a key part of RMB’s growth strategy. The transfer also includes the employees of HSBC South Africa which brings strong skills into our business and ensures continued service excellence.”
“We are pleased that RMB’s track record of client focused innovation and attracting and retaining the best talent has been recognised by HSBC, and we are confident that RMB’s capabilities and offerings will meet the needs of these clients.”
The transaction, subject to regulatory and governmental approvals, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
FirstRand will allocate the necessary capital to support the transferred risk-weighted assets, in line with the group’s financial resource allocation principles. The expected impact on FirstRand Limited’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio is anticipated to be less than 20 basis points.
