In for a penny: HSBC and insights

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What does it mean to be a ‘citizen of the world’? At a time of political and economic unrest, and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic – and following a period of rising nationalism – what does an ‘internationalist’ look like?

These questions are at the crux of a recent push by HSBC to reimagine itself and examine its internationalist credentials. The British bank, with its roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai, is one of the world’s biggest financial services firms and has long positioned itself as ‘the world’s local bank’, with worldwide operations generating a reported profit of $14.7bn and revenues in excess of $49bn in 2021.

However, given the changes afoot in the global economy and in many societies worldwide, HSBC has been using insight to stay ahead of its competitors and maintain its international credentials. The result has been a piece of work focused on identifying the characteristics of a modern internationalist (see boxout),  and, ultimately, using the findings to ...