HSBC sells private banking unit in Japan to Credit Suisse

This is part of HSBC's strategy to cut $3.5b annual costs.

According to Reuters, HSBC is cutting businesses where it lacks scale, like its private bank arm in Japan which made a profit of only $2 million in the first half of 2011.

Reuters noted that the sale involves assets worth $2.7 billion out of a global private banking empire amounting to $416 billion in client assets at the end of June.

In the report, one analyst said that Credit Suisse has a larger business in Japan than HSBC and should be able to benefit from cost synergies.

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