HSBC Philippines: Pioneering Innovation and Excellence Under the Leadership of Sandeep Uppal  - An Exclusive Interview

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HSBC Philippines, a beacon of innovation and leadership in the Philippine banking sector, continues to redefine the landscape of financial services in the country. As part of the global HSBC Group, the bank has consistently demonstrated a commitment to providing world-class banking solutions that not only address the diverse needs of its customers but also lead the way in sustainable banking practices and digital transformation.

In 2024, HSBC Philippines achieved an exceptional milestone, earning the prestigious title of Best International Bank – Philippines, 2024 at the Global Brand Frontier Awards 2025, hosted by Boston Brand Research & Media. This recognition is a reflection of the bank's consistent delivery of innovative products and services, alongside its contributions to the growth and stability of the Philippine economy. HSBC Philippines’ ability to navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving financial landscape has positioned it as a trusted partner for both businesses and individuals in the region.

At the helm of this success is Sandeep Uppal, CEO of HSBC Philippines, whose leadership has been instrumental in shaping the bank's path to excellence. With a wealth of experience in the global banking sector, Sandeep has been at the forefront of driving HSBC Philippines’ digital transformation, enhancing its operational efficiency, and elevating the bank’s commitment to sustainability. Under his stewardship, HSBC Philippines has embraced the challenges and opportunities presented by rapid technological advancements and has consistently remained ahead of the curve in meeting the needs of its customers.

In this exclusive interview with Sandeep Uppal, we delve deeper into HSBC Philippines’ strategic vision, its innovative approach to banking, and its commitment to sustainability and digital transformation. Below are the questions we have posed to Sandeep and his team, offering an inside look into the strategies and values that have propelled HSBC Philippines to new heights.

Interview Questions for Sandeep Uppal, CEO of HSBC Philippines

1. HSBC Philippines has recently been honored with the title of "Best International Bank – Philippines, 2024" at the Global Brand Frontier Awards. Could you share the key factors and strategic decisions that led to this prestigious recognition?
   

- When I joined HSBC Philippines in 2022, I’ve put together the strategy for both our wholesale and retail banking. The strategy has not changed since as it has been working. I believe that our success now is brought about by making sure that we adhere to our agreed strategy and execute at pace.

Over the years that I have been CEO of HSBC Philippines, I am proud to share that:

- We continue to capitalize on our strength as an international bank by bridging our clients to opportunities within the Philippines and across the world, supporting them to expand business in Asia, Europe and America.

- We support nation building as our contribution to our home for close to 150 years. Among several initiatives:

• To support the Republic of the Philippines economic team in promoting the country as an investment destination, we have organized economic briefings and trade road shows globally (United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Singapore, Middle East among others).
• Recently, we signed an MOU with the Philippine Export Procession Zone Authority (PEZA) to help drive foreign investments in the Philippines and recently, we brought a delegation from PEZA to key cities in India to explore opportunities in pharma and IT to benefit PH healthcare system and address employment.  
• To keep conversations on growing the Philippine economy going, we hold flagship annual business summits where we put together relevant government bodies, local and multinational clients, media and other stakeholders to discuss about the next steps the country has to take in order to remain on the growth path and help the Philippines level up from ASEAN’s Rising Star to Asia’s Superstar.

• As banking is a people’s business, we invest in our people and made sure that our employees are best equipped in skills and experience, to effectively service our clients in whatever support they would need for their business or personal transactions. I am delighted that our Philippine staff are now well recognized across the wider HSBC Group with many moving internationally and supporting our global franchise.

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2. As a global financial institution with local expertise, how does HSBC Philippines integrate the international resources of the HSBC Group while catering to the unique needs of Filipino customers?
   

- Our being international offers a unique proposition for our clients in the Philippines. We are one of, if not, the leading international full-service bank in the Philippines. We bridge our clients to investment and expansion opportunities across ASEAN, Asia, and the world. Banking with us opens a world of opportunity for all our customers.

We can also help our foreign investors acclimate themselves in the Philippines and connect them to relevant partners. We can also continue to focus on the country’s 3Gs – growing economy, growing population and growing trade liberalization – and emphasize these when we engage in trade conversations when talking to prospective investors. In fact, a great example for the MNC opportunity is HSBC itself as we have prospered here since 1875.

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3. ‍HSBC Philippines has long been recognized for leading innovation in banking. Under your leadership, how has the bank embraced digital transformation—through new tools, technologies, and customer-centric initiatives—and what have been some of the key challenges in adapting to the evolving expectations of Filipino customers while maintaining your competitive edge in a rapidly changing financial landscape?

- We are giving flexibility to our customers in how they interact with HSBC. Banking is now about customers being able to choose where, how and when to bank.

While we have digital tools to support our clients’ needs to allow them to access their accounts and do banking transactions anywhere, anytime, we have dedicated Relationship Managers and Client Service Managers to deliver the “human touch” and “personalized service”, where we are able to constantly understand their needs and deliver better products, services and technology tailored to their needs in order to help our customers protect and grow their financial wealth.

Some examples of innovations we’ve done so far are the following:

- Our new online banking and mobile app services are protected by industry-leading security technologies, providing strong defense against unauthorized access with its multi-factor authentication. Now, with our new mobile app, we have further enhanced security with biometric authentication and digital secure key. Designed with our customers at heart, it offers:

• Intuitive navigation with its simple design
• Enhanced log on feature enabling biometrics (FaceID and fingerprint) to quickly access accounts and do online transactions
• Secured banking experience with the new Digital Secure Key

- We have an alternative way to affix signatures on bank documents digitally and securely via Adobe Live Sign.

- When applying for an HSBC Credit Card, we have a fully digital end-to-end application journey that allows added convenience to customers and a faster turn-around time.  

- Through HSBC’s strong global presence and international connectivity, we are able to bridge Filipinos to the rest of the world. Premier customers can open an account in any country where HSBC Wealth and Personal Banking operates and transfer funds between HSBC accounts free of charge via online. Long-term customers will still prefer a mix of digital for routine transactions, and the human touch for more complex transactions, such as wealth planning and investing.  

- We invested in new Wealth systems in 2023 to digitize the Financial Planning Experience for our Premier customers and streamline the booking process for Funds.

- As we regard safety and security in banking, our online banking service is protected by industry-leading security technologies, providing strong defense against unauthorized access with its two log-on options using passwords or the physical security device as an added level of protection when performing sensitive transactions like moving money to third parties.

In our Wholesale Banking business, we are continuously investing in & deploying more digital payment solutions to support clients:

• We continuously invest in technology by way of delivering faster, easier and more secure digital banking and will be crucial to helping us win and retain new customers while becoming more agile and efficient, and enabling us to create seamless customer journeys.
• We’re seeing rapid adoption in Philippines and the wider region, and are stepping up to help our clients adapt to changes in customer behavior.  
• Early March, we launched a new solution – Omni Collect in the PH, to streamline the way companies support digital payments. It enables businesses to collect payments from their customers digitally through various channels, including online payments, electronic invoicing, direct debit, and more.
• We are part of InstaPay ACH, the real-time payments scheme under the National Retail Payments System of the Philippines, allowing our corporate clients to send high-volume payments to their employees, suppliers, partners or customers in real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and public holidays.    
• We also have HSBC Trade Solutions (HTS) which streamlines trade finance with end-to-end digital services, real-time tracking, and automated workflows.  
• Our efforts in digitization reinforces our commitment to promote awareness and drive adoption of digital payments in the country, as we continue working with the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP), Philippine Payments Management Inc (PPMI), the financial services community and the business community to deliver the benefits of a resilient and digitized economy.  
• With significant growth in PH e-commerce sector, the solution can help digitalise companies in various sectors such as retail, consumer brands, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, shipping and logistics, and financial services.

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4. ‍Sustainability and responsible banking are essential in today’s financial ecosystem. What are some of HSBC Philippines' most significant sustainable banking initiatives, and how do they align with your long-term vision for the bank's growth and impact?‍

- HSBC as a group have committed to achieving Net Zero in our financed emissions by 2050, this means that we plan to engage in our clients and stakeholders and work with them in their decarbonization journey. On top of this we also committed as a group to achieve 750 billion to 1 trillion USD of sustainable financing by 2030.

In the context of the Philippines, this is evident in the way we work with our clients. We put a lot of effort in understanding their sustainability strategies, including their challenges and opportunities, and from there work with them to enable them in their sustainability journey. This is exemplified in our innovative financing with PLDT last year where we’ve enabled them in both their first green term loan as they upgrade their copper cables with significantly less energy intensive fibre cables, and social loan which enables them to expand their infrastructure and offer affordable internet access to underserved municipalities in the Philippines.  

We also have dedicated teams on sustainability and sustainable finance that continue to engage our clients and stakeholders to understand the different upcoming sustainability related policies, market signals and what solutions sustainable financing and HSBC can bring to the table.

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5. ‍Looking ahead, what do you see as the major opportunities and potential obstacles for HSBC Philippines in the next 5 years? How is the bank positioning itself to capitalize on these opportunities and overcome any challenges? And as the banking industry continues to evolve, what trends do you foresee shaping the future of finance in the Philippines, and how is HSBC Philippines preparing to stay ahead of these trends?

- The Philippines has 3 ‘Gs’: A growing economy, growing population, and growing trade liberalization — all these make the country an attractive investment destination for anything linked to consumption and infrastructure development. HSBC Philippines believes in the Philippines’ growth story as the country continues its journey toward becoming an upper middle-income economy.

Despite better household and government spending, 1Q2025 growth in the Philippines came in below expectations, accelerating to only 5.4% yoy.  While we expect a more challenging growth outlook in 2H2025, Philippines’ high growth economy with its expected growth to be the fastest in ASEAN in 2025, with a forecast of 5.6%¹ for 2025.  PH is also the most consumption driven economy in ASEAN accounting for c.75% of GDP.

One of the ‘best’ demographic dividends in the world with a rising working-age population and increasing productivity.  With the median age in the Philippines at only 25² and the middle class expanding rapidly, we expect the number of adults in the Philippines holding wealth of at least US$250k to more-than-double by 2030.³ Economies that grow faster tend to create wealth more rapidly.

Looking at these trends and opportunities, we put our clients’ needs on the forefront and make sure that they supported and offered relevant products and services in however their banking preference and lifestyle changes.

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6. HSBC Philippines has built a strong reputation for its customer-centric approach. What values do you personally prioritize in your leadership style, and how do they influence the bank's culture and approach to customer service?

- At HSBC, we share common values which are: We get it done; We succeed together; We value difference; and We take responsibility. All these values come to play in how we do business and how we serve our customers.

Ultimately, the value of ‘getting things done’ says a lot when it comes to customer service. Our clients are the forefront of our priorities, so we make sure we put much importance in implementing projects and actions that will drive better customer experience and deliver high levels of satisfaction.

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7. ‍Finally, with HSBC Philippines’ sustained success, what is your vision for the future of the bank, both within the Philippines and across the broader ASEAN region, and how do you plan to achieve those aspirations?

- We have been here for almost 150 years, and we look forward to continue supporting our customers for centuries more. We stand ready to support them on their growth and expansion journeys, and to provide them with the right banking solutions to capture the opportunities in the region’s fast-growing digital economy. We want to be known as not only the leading international bank, but also the most respected bank in the country.

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¹ HSBC Global Research, Philippine GDP, Easing in the deep, 8 May 2025

² https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/philippines-demographics/

³ HSBC Global Research, The rise of Asian wealth, 16 August 2022