HSBC Plans India Equity Broking Return After 13 Years

HSBC is re-entering India’s equity broking business after a 13-year absence, seeking to capitalise on a robust pipeline of share sales and rising demand from wealthy clients.

The move marks a reversal of the London-headquartered bank’s decision to exit the domestic retail brokerage and depository business in 2013.

Rebuilding the Equities Platform

HSBC has begun rebuilding its equities platform and is hiring senior executives for cash equities and institutional broking roles in Mumbai, using the licence held through HSBC InvestDirect Securities (India) to launch retail services over the next few months.

Trading will focus on digital order execution for high-net-worth retail accounts. It will also handle cross-border trades routed through the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City financial free zone. HSBC walked away from its Indian retail brokerage and depository network in 2013 during a global retreat from non-core operations.

Diverging from Foreign Peer Strategies

This strategy sets HSBC apart from international rivals that spent the past decade shedding consumer banking in South Asia. Competitors including Citigroup, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank shrank their consumer footprints. They chose to concentrate capital on corporate advisory and transaction banking instead.

By contrast, the bank retained its local consumer arm and expanded its physical reach. The Reserve Bank of India approved 20 new branch locations for the lender in January, taking its domestic network to 46 locations.

Capturing Fee Revenue from Public Listings

Robust public offerings and retail participation have created steady fee income for capital market intermediaries in Mumbai. Re-establishing equity distribution gives the bank direct placement power for primary offerings. It also captures secondary brokerage commissions from affluent private banking clients.

Rival foreign institutions are attempting similar returns. London-based Barclays began preparations earlier this year to restart its Indian equity capital markets franchise, a decade after shutting the unit down during a restructuring drive.

Branch Expansion and Earnings Trajectory

Earnings in the group’s domestic franchise back the brokerage launch. HSBC India generated a 4 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit during the first half of 2026, lifted by higher fee volumes in corporate and institutional accounts.

Group chief executive Georges Elhedery stated in recent broadcast remarks that the bank intends to deploy more capital across India. It will prioritise wealth management products designed for high-income domestic savers.

What to Watch

Next, the bank will finalise its senior equity trading hires before rolling out digital retail execution tools to wealth clients across its 46-branch Indian network.