Lloyds to sell UAE operation to HSBC

Uk-based lender Lloyds Banking Group it to sell its onshore presence in the UAE to HSBC. The sale, for an undisclosed sum, includes Lloyds’ retail, commercial and corporate banking businesses, which operate out of a single location in Dubai. Lloyds’ onshore operation currently employs 223 people in the country and the lender said it was not sure how many would be offered roles at HSBC. The deal does not include Lloyds’ International Wealth Business in the UAE, which encompasses the lender’s private banking branch in Dubai International Finance Centre and its offshore international personal banking service. “[Llloyds’] decision to sell the onshore UAE presence follows its group strategic review, announced on 30 June 2011, when it committed to simplify its international footprint,” said Richard Musty, Lloyds’ country head for the UAE. HSBC has been undergoing a restructuring process of its own in the UAE. Last week, Arabian Business revealed that staff at HSBC Middle East had received an email announcing immediate company plans to implement redundancies. Sources said the email did not specify the number of job cuts or in which departments they would occur, but recipients of the email included employees in wealth management. In a later emailed statement sent out by HSBC, the lender confirmed that it was restructuring in the UAE, but could not confirm how many employees would be effected or in which departments.