'HSBC Mexico, SA' is the principal operating company of Grupo Financiero HSBC, SA de CV is one of Mexico’s four largest banking and financial service companies, with 1,400 branches and 5,200 ATMs. HSBC purchased
Banco Internacional, SA known as
Bital, in November 2002, several years after Bital participated in the controversial
Fobaproa, which rescued the nation's banks from the 1994 crisis, at the cost of the Mexican taxpayers.
HSBC's Mexico headquarters are at
Torre HSBC on the
Paseo de la Reforma near the
Angel of Independence in
Mexico city around 2,800 staff work in the 40,000 m² tower.
Bital joins the HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc acquired
GF Bital on
November 22,
2002.
Rebranding
On
January 29,
2004 the entire branch network of
Bital (
Banco Internacional) was rebranded as HSBC overnight. HSBC saturated newspapers, television and radio, purchased advertising space on every luggage trolley at
Mexico City International Airport, on the sides of taxis, on buses, on the plastic bags in which newspapers are delivered, on flower stalls the side of tall buildings around Mexico City. That same day
Bital customers received new
credit cards with the HSBC logo and notification of changes to their account numbers.

HSBC logo
Mexican banking
Under the HSBC brand the bank maintains a network of around 1400 branches nationwide, with the longest opening hours (8AM-7PM) including Saturdays.
A new innovation brought to the Mexican market was the first
fixed rate mortgage, which was an unusual product in Mexico, but was chosen to appeal to low-income customers concerned with the
repossessions that followed the crisis of 1994-95.
ATM network
HSBC was the first Mexican bank to offer pre-approved personal loans via
ATMs, and also has a program called "Niños con Futuro" which allows customers to make charitable
donations via ATMs - this idea has since been taken up by
HSBC Bank UK. HSBC Mexico also deploys advanced computerised modeling techniques to predict usage patterns for ATMs and ensure that they are best placed for usage and hence profit.
Pensions
On
August 14,
2003 HSBC agreed to acquire AFORE Allianz Dresdner, S.A. de C.V., from the
Allianz Group, for US$200 million, it was renamed HSBC Afore, S.A. de C.V.

Torre HSBC
Other Mexican Operations
HSBC México, S.A. Institución de Banca Múltiple (Bank)
HSBC Seguros, S.A. de C.V. (Insurance)
HSBC Afore, S.A. de C.V. (Pension Fund)
HSBC Fianzas, S.A.
HSBC Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. (Stockbroker)
HSBC Operadora de Fondos, S.A. de C.V.
HSBC also has a 19.99 per cent stake in
Financiera Independencia, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliate
Serfincor, S.A. de C.V. which was acquired in the first half of 2006.
Regional Operations
As a principal member of the HSBC Mexico is responsible for other operations in the area, principally
HSBC Bank Panama, SA,
HSBC Colombia SA formerly
Primer Banco del Istmo, HSBC Costa Rica through the acquisition of the local bank
Banex, HSBC El Salvador by the acquisition of the local bank
Banco Salvadoreño and HSBC Honduras through what was
BGA.
See also
★
HSBC Holdings plc
External links
★
HSBC Bank Mexico
Bibliography
★ HSBC Mexico website
★ Financial Times article 'The difference a name makes', John Authers, 6th May 2004