HSBC CEO Says Bank's Confidence In Gulf Unchanged Amid US-Israeli War With Iran

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times' live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]

HSBC's CEO said on Monday the bank remained confident in the Gulf states' economic prospects, as the region and the wider Middle East brace for the economic shock from the US-Israeli war with Iran.

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Georges Elhedery said HSBC's "conviction in the GCC's (Gulf Cooperation Council) fundamentals and its future is unchanged", in some of the first comments from an international bank boss on the growing crisis.

Like many international lenders, HSBC has sought to expand across the Gulf, and has highlighted the region as key to its wider group strategy of capitalising on inter-regional global deal and capital flows to boost the bank's overall profitability.

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HSBC does not disclose the Middle East contribution to its profit, but a Reuters calculation from company figures showed that its UAE's and Saudi Arabian businesses, which account for the vast majority of its activity in the region, have together contributed 5 per cent of overall group profits annually over the past five years.

“HSBC remains steadfast in our confidence in the GCC and in the long-term strength, resilience and promise of the region," Elhedery said in a statement on Monday. "We continue to believe that the years ahead will bring renewed stability, growth, and prosperity."

Elhedery told investors on a February 25 conference call that the "Asia-Middle East corridor is becoming a defining axis of global growth," adding that the UAE was among the markets key to the bank's strategy to grow wealth management fees.

Since the start of the war, Iranian drones and ballistic missiles have hit countries across the GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the UAE, severely disrupting oil and gas exports that underpin regional revenue.

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