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HSBC France retail bank sold to US fund Cerberus

After more than two years HSBC transferred on Monday for an undisclosed amount its retail banking network in France to My Money Group, controlled by US private equity fund Cerberus.

FRANCE-POLITICS-PROTEST
People at work to build a wooden wall aimed at protecting the shop window of a HSBC agency, on December 7th, 2018 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Photo by: Alain JOCARD / AFP

The operation will see HSBC France’s nearly 250 retail branches with their 800,000 clients and 3,500 staff become CCF, a brand that HSBC shelved when it began operations in France some two decades ago.

The move is part of London-headquarters HSBC’s efforts to simplify and refocus operations on its major region of Asia.

When announcing the planned sale in June 2021, HSBC said the transfer for a nominal one euro would see it incur a hefty charge.

But the rise in global interest rates complicated negotiations, with HSBC finally booking a charge of $2.4 billion against third quarter 2022 over the French unit.

The terms of the final deal were not disclosed.

In a statement released Monday the groups said CCF would seek to cater to professionals.

My Money Group traces its history in France back more than a century, originally helping people finance their purchases of Citroen cars, then spending two decades under General Electric’s control before the US conglomerate pulled out of finance activities. Cerberus acquired the group in 2018.

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TECH

‘3,000 new jobs’: Microsoft and Amazon to invest billions in France

Microsoft on Sunday announced €4 billion in investment for developing data centres in France, joining fellow US giant Amazon in committing to the country's tech infrastructure.

'3,000 new jobs': Microsoft and Amazon to invest billions in France

The announcements came on the eve of the seventh Choose France Summit, the aim of which is to attract foreign investors to the country. Macron will host it at the Chateau of Versailles near Paris.

Microsoft’s president Brad Smith told AFP the move to strengthen its artificial intelligence and cloud computing infrastructure was the tech giant’s biggest-ever investment in France since its arrival 41 years ago.

France’s “longstanding commitment to carbon-free energy markets” and its status as a “critical leader” in Europe explained the decision, Smith said.

A new data centre will be created in eastern France, while existing sites in the Paris region and the southern city of Marseille will be expanded.

E-commerce behemoth Amazon will invest more than €1.2 billion in France, creating more than 3,000 jobs, French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said earlier on Sunday.

The money will help develop Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) cloud infrastructure, mainly generative artificial intelligence, and the logistical infrastructure of its parcel delivery service, a statement added.

Amazon did not respond to approaches by AFP on Sunday, having recently said it did not want to make any comment ahead of a possible announcement that would be made at the event.

The US company has already announced the creation of 2,000 new jobs in France in 2024, which would bring its staff workforce in the country up to 24,000 by the end of the year, mainly in its logistics centres.

AWS is a key subsidiary of the group, having made $25 billion worldwide in the first quarter, capitalising on the growing appetite among businesses for remote computer and artificial intelligence services.

As Choose France prepared to get under way, several pharmaceutical groups, including US group Pfizer and Britain’s AstraZeneca, announced on Sunday commitments to invest more than a billion euros more in France’s health sector.

The largest industrial project announced so far is a potential fertiliser factory, which could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

European consortium FertigHy is to announce it is looking at investing €1.3 billion into a factory in the Somme region in northern France, Industry Minister Roland Lescure told France’s La Tribune Dimanche newspaper.

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