HSBC Holdings has agreed to sell its Australian mortgage and personal loan portfolio valued at approximately A$36 billion (US$25.3 billion) to a unit of Blackstone as part of a broader global restructuring effort. The transaction, reportedly the largest home loan portfolio sale ever recorded, was disclosed in late July and is expected to result in an estimated pre-tax loss of under US$100 million for HSBC by mid-2027.
The sale reflects HSBC’s ongoing strategy to simplify its operations under chief executive Georges Elhedery, who took over two years ago and has since overseen significant changes including the winding down of investment banking units across the UK, Europe, and the Americas. Last month, HSBC also sold its Singapore insurance business to Allianz for US$2.1 billion as part of this streamlining process.
HSBC has operated in the Australian market since the 1960s, obtaining a full banking licence in the 1980s. The lender put its retail operations up for sale last year but did not receive formal bids despite interest from major Australian financial institutions such as National Australia Bank and Macquarie Group. More recently, the bank conducted talks around breaking up its Australian retail assets before deciding on the sale of the mortgage and personal loan book.
Following the sale, HSBC will proceed with a phased wind-down of its remaining retail business in Australia over the next 18 months, which is expected to cost around US$300 million in restructuring charges and write-offs. The bank will continue to maintain its corporate and institutional banking services in Australia, consolidating these operations into its Sydney branch. HSBC also emphasized its ongoing commitment to private banking and asset management services within the region.
The buyer, Vingao BldCo Pty, is an Australian company wholly owned by funds managed by affiliates of Blackstone. The private equity firm described the acquisition as a “marquee investment” in expanding its global private credit business and highlighted the transaction as the largest home loan portfolio sale worldwide to date. Blackstone has partnered with Pepper Money, a local non-bank lender, to service the loans. Pepper Money has previous experience acquiring large portfolios in the region, including a A$21 billion loan book from Westpac and a NZ$1.4 billion New Zealand loan portfolio formerly held by HSBC.
Mike Culhane, a representative of Blackstone, characterized the purchased portfolio as a “high quality” asset and reaffirmed the firm’s commitment to Australia as an attractive market for long-term credit investment. The transaction comes amid a broader trend of international banks scaling back retail operations in Australia, following Citigroup’s sale of its local business to National Australia Bank in 2021 for A$1.2 billion.
HSBC’s sale is expected to generate net proceeds to support its wider corporate initiatives and reflects an ongoing shift in strategy favoring reduced exposure to retail banking in Australia while focusing on institutional and corporate segments.