Managers focused on growth after complex transformation
Europe headcount slashed from 17,000 to 10,600
International clients expected to boost European revenue

LONDON, April 8 Reuters HSBC39;s European chief is betting on rising regional wealth and overseas expansion by Asian corporate clients to boost his unit39;s contribution to group profit after a multiyear reboot turned the business from laggard to profit engine.

The turnaround in Europe, some details of which are reported here for the first time, has helped HSBC overcome investor scepticism about its network strategy after a 2022 campaign by number one shareholder Ping An Insurance Group of China raised questions over whether HSBC39;s fastgrowing Asian business was being held back by its outsized presence in slowergrowth Western markets.

At the core of the strategy is the notion that big corporate clients in Asia, many of which already borrow from HSBC, will use a wider range of its services in Europe as they expand into the region, as well as tapping it for advice on local deals and fundraising.

Beside profiting from Europebound revenue from other HSBC hubs, the bank wants to increase income from ultrahighnetworth families, Colin Bell, chief executive of HSBC Europe, told Reuters in his first interview since taking over the role in February 2021.

With international wholesale banking at the core, we are so much more targeted from a strategy point of view, Bell said, pointing to a rise in return on tangible…