HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, has denied reports it is planning to move its head office from London to Hong Kong.

The Sunday Telegraph quoted a major, unnamed investor as saying "we were told that a move [to Hong Kong] is now more than likely".

In a joint statement, both the bank's top executives, the group chairman and chief executive said the talk was "speculative and presumptious".

The bank moved its corporate base from Hong Kong to London 19 years ago.

The Sunday Telegraph report said shareholders had begun to ask about the cost of its London base and the new bank levy in the UK.

The bank has said the levy is unfair to its business, which has substantial overseas operations.

The report comes one day after the Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, gave an interview in which he was highly critical of the banks in general, saying they put "profit before people".

As head of the Bank, he will take charge of bank regulation once the forthcoming new banking watchdog, the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), is set up.

The PRA will be part of the Bank of England.
30 percent premium

The Sunday Telegraph quoted one top institutional investor in HSBC as saying: "HSBC has a review of its domicile every three years, normally it's a formality (but) this time we were told that a move is now more than likely."

It quoted another shareholder as saying: "Instinctively we were very surprised by the change of tone. But you can't argue with the numbers. Moving to Hong Kong could deliver a 30% premium [to the share price] overnight."

An HSBC spokesman said: "No decision whatsoever has been made. London is ideally positioned as an international financial centre and we have been clear that it is our preference to remain headquartered here.

"However, we are routinely asked by institutional investors about the costs of being headquartered in the UK and it's clear that the City's competitive position needs protection."

Last Monday, HSBC reported pre-tax profits of $19bn (£11.8bn) for 2010, more than double the $7.1bn figure for 2009.

At the time, the bank's chairman, Douglas Flint, expressed concerns over new regulations that will mean banks have to hold sufficient capital to stop them requiring government bail-outs in any future financial crisis.

The BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, said HSBC was "lobbying the government - through the media - over the structure of the banking levy and possible future bank reforms".

HSBC makes a small percentage of its profits in the UK and sees Asia as an increasingly important market.

Its chief exeutive, Stuart Gulliver, has his principal office in Hong Kong.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12658880

Many banks have often threatened to move if we don't bend over and let them shaft us.

Let them. Plenty of economists believe that one of the reasons we were hit so hard in the collapse was because we had too many big banks here. Let them sod off.

It would be dereliction in their duty not to be planning an alternative base for their operations.

In the case of HSBC, IIRC they relocated to get to the capital available in London, even though the UK only counts for a small part of their profit. If it makes sense profit wise they will go.

#
I don't think that any bank would stay here out of their community spirit.