The HSBC Group has an international pedigree which is unique. Many of its principal companies opened for business over a century ago and they have a history which is rich in variety and achievement. The HSBC Group is named after its founding member, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, which was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe.

HSBC has a workforce of 312,000 people and a customer base of over 125 million. Of the six official languages of the UN, more than 10,000 employees are native speakers in four of them, and another five thousand in a fifth. London has more than 30 different linguistic communities of over 10,000 people.