HSBC announces "significant reshaping" strategies, to axe up to 25,000 jobs

British banking group HSBC Holding Plc announced Tuesday a "significant reshaping" of its business portfolio, including cutting as many as 25,000 jobs globally over the next two years.

The group's British business will bear the hardest blow, as it plans to axe 7,000 to 8,000 jobs, the equivalent of one in six local employees who will lose their positions.

HSBC is looking at a reduction of risk-weighted assets (RWAs) of approximately 290 billion U.S. dollars, or around 25 percent of its RWAs in 2014, said Europe's biggest bank by assets in a press release.

HSBC intends to sell its operations in Turkey and Brazil, but plans to accelerate investment in Asia. The group will develop its business in both the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China, and in the ASEAN region.

It's expectation is to "leverage opportunities" from its market-leading position in Renminbi internationalization, it highlighted.

The group plans to expand asset management and insurance in Asia and deliver "above GDP" revenue growth from its international network through investment in foreign exchange, payments and cash management, and global trade and receivables finance, it noted.

Stuart Gulliver, group chief executive at HSBC, said: "We recognize that the world has changed and we need to change with it."

"The world is increasingly connected, with Asia expected to show high growth and become the centre of global trade over the next decade."

HSBC is aiming for a return on equity (ROE) of greater than 10 percent by 2017. It means to complete a headquarters review by the end of 2015. Endit