By Dinesh Nair
DUBAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings will stopoffering wealth management products in Bahrain, Jordan andLebanon as the British lender continues to exit small orinsufficiently profitable operations globally as part of astrategic review, the bank said.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, has cut its retail bankingbusiness in some Middle Eastern nations, including the threenations affected in the latest move, and merged its operationsin Oman with a local bank as part of a three-year globalrestructuring instigated by Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver.
The worldwide move, which has seen the bank exit or sell 54businesses to help improve profitability, has also seen it scaleback its Islamic and private banking operations.
"HSBC's global strategy for retail banking and wealthmanagement is to offer and grow the wealth business in marketswhere we can achieve scale," the bank said in a statement issuedto Reuters on Sunday.
"After a detailed review of our MENA business, we willdiscontinue sales of any new wealth investment or wealthinsurance products in Lebanon, Jordan and Bahrain from October7, 2013."
Existing customers will continue to receive basic servicesand their wealth management-related investments will bemaintained until maturity, the lender said, adding the decisionhas not prompted job losses.
The lender, one of the largest international banks in theregion with a presence in 14 Middle Eastern countries, hasinformed employees about the decision internally and those affected will be absorbed by other teams within HSBC's retailand wealth management division, one banking source said, askingnot to be identified as the matter is not public.
HSBC's wealth management operations fall under its retailand wealth management division. It operates a private bankingbusiness separately.
Global wealth managers have flocked to the Gulf Arab regionin recent years, lured by its rich energy and commodityreserves, relatively higher economic growth and risingpopulation.
Wealthy individuals in the Middle East and Africa saw thevalue of their assets rise 9.1 percent to $4.8 trillion in 2012,a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) showed in June, asstrong economies and rising equity markets fuelled regionalgrowth.
However, competition in the sector has intensified in recentyears with about 30 wealth and private banking firms seeking toattract clients from the region and leading to shrinking fees.