HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational banking and financial services organization. It is the world’s 6th largest bank by assets and the 4th largest bank by market capitalization. HSBC has over 42 million customers in over 60 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America. The company’s global headquarters are in London, England.

HSBC was founded in 1865 as The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The company was formed by a group of Scottish businessmen who saw the potential for a bank to serve the growing trade between China and the West. HSBC quickly became one of the most successful banks in the world, and by the early 20th century, it had branches in over 20 countries.

In the 1990s, HSBC began to expand its operations into Europe and the Americas. The company acquired a number of banks, including Midland Bank in the United Kingdom and Republic National Bank of New York in the United States. These acquisitions made HSBC one of the largest banks in the world.