National Australia Bank to Close Hong Kong Office

By Alice Uribe

SYDNEY--National Australia Bank will close its Hong Kong office, but will retain other branches as key hubs for customers in the region.

The winding down of the Hong Kong operations is expected to take around 18 months, with the Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai offices being the key customer hubs in the region and able to support the Hong Kong customer base, said Krista Baetens, NAB Executive, Asia.

"These offices play an important role in markets, distribution and trade finance," she said in a statement.

Westpac Banking Corp., another Australian major lender, ceased its banking activity in Hong Kong in June.

NAB's Hong Kong office has around 50 staff, with full closure expected by 2025.

The decision to shut down the Hong Kong office wasn't taken lightly by the lender, said Baetens.

"The decision was made following a thorough assessment of our strategy and reflects our ambition to align our Corporate and Institutional business with the greatest opportunities for NAB and our clients," she said. "Our global greater China customers and investors will be well served from Shanghai and other branches in Asia, UK, Europe, U.S. and from our head office in Australia."

Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 13, 2023 20:34 ET (00:34 GMT)

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