HSBC Applies for Charter to Expand

HSBC Holdings, the world’s second-largest bank, applied for a national charter for its U.S. bank operations to expand sales in the country.

The new unit, HSBC Bank USA, which would be based in New Castle, Del., probably would receive its charter later this year, London-based HSBC said. The division would combine the company’s New York state-chartered bank and national trust business. It wouldn’t include HSBC’s Household International, a consumer finance company.

HSBC has more than 400 branches, including five in California.

Shares of HSBC fell $1.63 to $73.52 on the New York Stock Exchange.

From Bloomberg News