Dubai: HSBC yesterday sent out emails to its employees in the UAE announcing the implementation of an efficiency programme that could result in some redundancies.
The bank did not reveal how many employees will be affected or how many jobs will be lost.
Sources in the bank told Gulf News yesterday that a number of business sections including wealth management, corporate banking and retail banking will be affected.
"HSBC is going through a global efficiency programme to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of our organisation. HSBC is making some roles redundant and restructuring some others in the UAE," HSBC said in an emailed statement.
The bank reported strong performance in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in 2011. Profits from the UAE operations were up 77 per cent to $575 million (Dh2.1 trillion) from $324 million in 2010. The UAE accounted for 38.5 per cent of the bank's profit before tax from the Mena region.
In the Mena region the bank reported more than 8 per cent growth in total operating income to $2.6 billion compared to $2.4 billion in 2010. Profit before tax for the region was up 67 per cent to $1.49 billion last year compared to $892 million in 2010. Mena region's contribution to bank's total profit before tax was close to 7 per cent in 2011.
"The bank will continue to hire and invest in growth regions and businesses — and [the] Mena [region] is a growth region for the bank," the HSBC statement said yesterday.
