HSBC in Asia named best Trade Finance bank

HSBC has been named "Best Trade Finance Bank" in FinanceAsia's annual Achievement Awards, scooping the title for the tenth consecutive year.

The award recognises HSBC's success in developing innovative new products and services, while also growing its business in traditional product categories such as Letters of Credit (LCs).

A key initiative highlighted was the introduction of HSBCnet-Supply Chain Solutions (SCS). HSBCnet-SCS is an end-to-end supply chain management platform that gives buyers a single portal through which to interact with their suppliers and the bank.

HSBC had bucked the market trend of decreasing LC volumes across the region, said FinanceAsia. During 2006, HSBC in Asia recorded a rise in LCs outstanding of over 15%, and grew LC market share in 16 Asian markets.

HSBC's trade services business continued to experience strong growth in its customer base across Asia, most notably in India, China and Malaysia. The award citation said: "For a bank to defend its title on a yearly basis is no mean feat, for the same bank to consistently excel for 10 years straight is a testament to its ongoing brilliance."

Head of Trade Services Asia Pacific at HSBC Alistair Currie, said: "This award is a testament to our rich trade heritage in Asia, our thorough understanding of Asian markets and to our focus on developing pioneering services that help our customers do business throughout the world.

2006 was an outstanding year for us, in which we saw significant growth, both in terms of numbers of customers and the amount of business they are doing with us. We look forward to building on this in 2007."