LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - HSBC's boss said thebank's concerns about whether it would have enough control of aseparated UK business had been clarified "completelysatisfactorily" by recent guidance from Britain's financialregulator.
Britain's banks have to "ring-fence" their domestic UKretail operations from 2019, and HSBC had been worried it couldeffectively become an "asset manager" of the business if it hadno control over capital, dividends, strategy and risk appetiteof the unit.
"Those concerns that we had about whether we wouldeffectively be an asset manager of the ring-fenced bank havebeen dealt with completely satisfactorily by the remarks made byAndrew Bailey," HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver toldanalysts on Monday.
Bailey, chief executive of the Prudential RegulationAuthority, last month gave further details on the ring-fencingrules, which will allow the units to transfer capital to theirparents.
HSBC Finance Director Iain Mackay said the cost of settingup the ring-fenced bank would be between $1 and $2 billion,unchanged from previous guidance. (Reporting by Steve Slater)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)