HSBC Holdings said it planned to sell its New Zealand home-loan business bought four years ago to focus on its self-generated mortgage business.
HSBC New Zealand, a unit of the London-based banking group, said it might sell its AMP Bank residential mortgage portfolio to Kiwibank at a premium to book value.
The portfolio, comprising about 5,900 customer accounts, had a book value of NZ$720 million (HK$3.9 billion) as of January 18. HSBC acquired these mortgages when it bought AMP's retailing banking unit in 2003 for about US$497 million.
HSBC will keep most of its self-secured residential mortgage portfolio in New Zealand which has a book value of NZ$1.57 billion.
'We intend to continue to grow our own mortgage business,' said Norman Wilson, chief executive of HSBC in New Zealand, adding that this business had increased more than 40 per cent since 2002.
'It is our intention to focus our business on those customers whom we are best placed to serve ... these customers have international interests and need the unique support HSBC can offer,' Mr Wilson said.