HSBC Holdings plc is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business links to East Asia and a multinational footprint. It is the largest Europe-based bank by total assets, ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$3.098 trillion as of September 2024. This also puts it as the 7th largest bank in the world by total assets behind Bank of America, and the 3rd largest non-state owned bank in the world. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 trillion in assets under custody and $4.9 trillion in assets under administration. HSBC traces its origin to a hong trading house in British Hong Kong. The bank was established in 1865 in Hong Kong and opened branches in Shanghai in the same year. It was first formally incorporated in 1866. In 1991, the present parent legal entity, HSBC Holdings plc, was established in London and the historic Hong Kong–based bank from whose initials the group took its name became that entity's fully-owned subsidiary. The next year, HSBC took over Midland Bank and thus became one of the largest domestic banks in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia