HSBC will exit Australian retail banking, closing all 19 branches over the next 18 months and selling its mortgage and personal-loan portfolio to Blackstone. The move ends the London-based bank’s decades-long consumer presence in Australia, reflecting the difficulty foreign banks face competing in a market dominated by major local lenders.

The sale, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to complete in the first half of 2027, with Pepper Money appointed to service the loans. HSBC’s Australian consumer loan book is worth about $36bn, mainly mortgages; its transaction accounts, savings products, term deposits and credit cards will be phased out, while private and institutional banking will continue. HSBC employs 2,000 people in Australia, though the scale of job losses has not yet been confirmed.