On April 9th, HSBC Holdings announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its wholly-owned subsidiary HSBC Latin America B.V. has signed a binding agreement to sell its Argentine business to Grupo Financiero Galicia, the largest private financial group in Argentina.
Galicia will acquire all of HSBC Argentina's businesses, including banking, asset management, and insurance, for a consideration of $550 million, as well as $100 million of debt outstanding issued by HSBC Argentina and held by other HSBC entities. This consideration will be adjusted based on the performance of the business from December 31, 2023 to delivery and the fair value gains and losses of HSBC Argentina's securities investment portfolio.
HSBC Argentina consists of over 100 branches, operated by approximately 3100 employees, serving approximately one million customers. In 2023, HSBC Argentina recorded revenue of $774 million, recognized expected credit loss expenses of $107 million, and incurred operating expenses of $428 million, resulting in a pre tax profit of $239 million. As of February 29, 2024, HSBC Argentina's total assets were $4.7 billion, risk weighted assets were $7.9 billion, and equity was $1.4 billion.