The appetite of foreign banks for investment in meaningful distribution capacity in Australia ebbs and flows. In the case of HSBC, it is flowing again.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that HSBC is working on a program of opening between five and 10 branches a year between 2010 and 2020. The bank's network in Australia will grow from 24 to between 70 and 100 branches.
Even before the financial crisis took hold HSBC was rationalising its investment in Australia, though changing priorities, and upgraded projections of population growth (driven by immigration from Asia) appear to be leading to a rethink on the bank's options.