HSBC to scale back Islamic banking operations

DUBAI: HSBC Holdings is to significantly scale back the presence of its global Islamic banking operations, it said on Thursday, as part of a wider restructuring at the U.K.-based bank.

The bank will focus its Islamic finance business on customers in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and keep a limited presence in Indonesia, the bank said in a statement.

Except for wholesale banking operations, it will no longer offer Islamic products in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Singapore and Mauritius, it added.

HSBC is cutting thousands of jobs and exiting non-core businesses as part of Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver's plans to cut costs and improve profitability at the bank.