HSBC: Harnessing local knowledge @ The world's local bank

To get a closer understanding of a country and its culture, you have to be a part of it. In concurrence with this view, HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) offices all around the world are staffed by local people. The number of local staff at HSBC offices/ branches is much greater than at any other bank.

The business purpose behind having local people is to have local insights which will help recognize financial opportunities which may not be apparently visible to outsiders. In terms of relationships with customers, the idea is to make the customer feel comfortable in his/ her local setting with local people who can understand him/her better.

  

The same gesture or action may have different connotations in different places and may be perceived differently, which would further determine the thoughts and actions of people in that region. Let's take an example where the same gesture is perceived differently in different countries:

  



EGYPT

Be patient.

ITALY
What exactly do you mean?

GREECE
That's just perfect!

HSBC is therefore, able to understand people in different regions better on account of their greater sensitivity to local needs. Not only are local customers benefited, innovations and ideas from different regions are shared throughout HSBC to come up with practices so that everyone who banks with HSBC benefits.

Local knowledge at HSBC spans 87 countries across the globe, which is remarkable. HSBC has successfully made use of local knowledge across a global platform to emerge as the second largest banking and financial company in the world with more than 100 million customers.