ANKARA
International banking giant HSBC is to sell off its Turkey operation.
The move comes days after the company was hit with a $53-million dollar fine over tax evasion.
HSBC is set to cut up to 20,000 jobs in an effort to achieve $5 billion in savings, the bank said on Tuesday.
In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, HSBC said that the job cuts were roughly equivalent to 10 percent of the bank's global workforce.
No decision, however, was made on moving the bank's headquarters out of the U.K.; an announcement about that issue will be made at a later date, the statement said.
The bank also said that it will sell off its Brazilian operations, raising about $5 billion overall through the divestments.
HSBC described the move as a “significant reshaping" of its business portfolio.
Among its objectives are achieving a return on equity of greater than 10 percent by 2017 through annual cost cutting intended to save about $4 billion each year. Last year, return on equity hit 7.3 percent, down from 9.2 percent in 2013. The bank had planned on 10 percent ROI in 2014.
HSBC also promised to increase its investments in Asia. It will target insurance and asset management as areas for growth in the region.
"We recognize that the world has changed and we need to change with it. That is why we are outlining...strategic actions that will further transform our organization," said HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver.
On June 4, HSBC was fined $53 million by Swiss authorities in a tax evasion case that dates from leaks about the bank's clients in 2008. The bank is still litigating similar charges, along with allegations of money laundering in the U.S.
Gilbert said that the bank's new strategy would involve getting smaller, a move away from HSBC's aggressive acquisition efforts in previous years.
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