page_title: HSBC Bank Canada
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: HSBC Bank Canada / History
caption_attribution_description: English: HSBC Building, Markham Liberty Square, Markham
context_page_description: HSBC Bank Canada, formerly the Hongkong Bank of Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of British multinational banking and financial services company HSBC. HSBC Canada is the seventh largest bank in Canada, with offices in every province except Prince Edward Island, and is the largest foreign-owned bank in the country. Corporate headquarters are in the financial district of Vancouver, British Columbia. HSBC Bank Canada's Institution Number is 016.
context_section_description: In 1979, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation bought a Vancouver-based acceptance company that financed machinery and equipment for small companies operating in British Columbia. In 1981, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation incorporated Hongkong Bank of Canada (HBC), in Vancouver as a chartered bank effective July 1, 1981, under the Bank Act of Canada using the acceptance company as a base for the new bank. HBC had a few retail branches primarily focused on Asian-Canadians whose primary business centred on commercial enterprises. HBC opened branches in major cities in western Canada and in Toronto and Montreal but growth was slow. HBC sought to grow by acquisition, but the first three attempts to buy an existing institution were unsuccessful.  HBC acquired the assets of Bank of British Columbia on November 27, 1986, which had essentially failed.  This acquisition gave HBC an additional $2.6 billion in assets and 41 branches in British Columbia and Alberta propelling it overnight from the 20th largest to 9th largest bank in Canada.
  On May 20, 1988, HBC amalgamated with Midland Bank Canada, gaining many new corporate banking relationships, combined assets of $472 million, and expanding to Eastern Canada. It acquired Lloyds Bank Canada on May 29, 1990, thereby adding another $4.4 billion in assets and 53 branches.  Lloyds Bank had acquired Continental Bank of Canada in 1986. Continental Bank began in 1973 as Niagara Finance Company, later became IAC Limited, and then Continental Bank.
  By October 31, 1990, HBC's assets were $10.2 billion and its branch network had doubled with most of its newly acquired branches located in Ontario and Quebec.  The acquisition of Lloyds also made the company Canada's largest foreign bank and a bilingual operation with branches in eight Quebec communities. On April 30, 1993, HBC acquired ANZ Canada consisting of one office in Toronto, which it combined with the existing HBC branch at 70 York Street. ANZ had acquired Grindlays Bank Canada with its 1984 acquisition of Grindlays Bank, but management sold the component to HBC to focus on expansion in the Asia-Pacific area.  The purchase of ANZ made HBC the seventh largest bank in Canada with branches in every province except Prince Edward Island.  HBC acquired the single-office Metropolitan Trust Company of Canada on August 1, 1995.
  HBC acquired Barclays Bank Canada on August 31, 1996. Barclays had re-entered Canada in 1979 and developed a diversified but modest range of activities. In 1985, Barclays bought the assets of Wells Fargo Bank (Canada), consisting of its operations in Alberta and Florida, so that Wells Fargo could re-focus on its home market. In 1993, Barclays Bank Canada closed its Edmonton branch and the following year, it closed six additional branches in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, London, Montreal and Halifax, retaining only its head office. Barclays' Canadian operations lost approximately $120-million between 1992 and 1996.
  In response to the growing north-south trade occasioned by the adoption of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), HBC acquired the Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon branches of Marine Midland Bank in 1996.  This move into the United States seemed a natural expansion that followed the business interests of many of the bank's customers.  HBC acquired National Westminster Bank of Canada on May 1, 1998, which had assets of C$844.5 million. NatWest had entered Canada in 1982. On June 21, 1999, HBC changed its name to HSBC Bank Canada, consistent with the HSBC Group's strategy of creating the global brand, HSBC. On December 3 of that year, it acquired Prenor Trust Company of Canada.
  In 2000, HSBC Bank Canada acquired Republic National Bank of New York (Canada) after HSBC acquired the parent bank. Republic  had entered Canada in 1982, and was an amalgamation of several banks. Republic's purchases included Bank Leumi Le Israel (Canada) in 1993; Israel-based Bank Hapoalim (Canada) in 1994; and Israel Discount Bank of Canada's in 1996.  On April 1, 2001, HSBC Canada acquired CCF
caption: An HSBC branch in Markham, Ontario.
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