HSBC reviews

3.9

72% would recommend to a friend

(28,233 total reviews)
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Georges Elhedery

69% approve of CEO

66% positive business outlook

HSBC has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 28,233 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The HSBC employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Finanzen industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

28K reviews
2.0
Jan 3, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you want to work for a behemoth organization and just be a face in the crowd then go for it. Before the financial crisis struck job security was fairly good, especially in IT where I worked so that could have been another reason lot of people, particularly in Vancouver, Canada remained stuck in their positions.

Cons

From an IT perspective, it's a career killer. The technology leadership team is incompetent and only acts as yes-men telling the CIO what he wants to listen. The Household team (includes the CIO) is in charge and they're trotting out the same dog and pony show before business year after year. IT is touted as a force for change but status quo reigns supreme and there's no clear understanding of what business benefits IT changes can bring. Bottomline, If you're looking for a dynamic, fast-paced, forward-looking career it IT, this ain't the place to work.

4.0
Jul 9, 2025

HSBC US

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

HSBC is a great place to start your career and get boots on the ground hands on experience especially as a Junior banker in the US. Teams are much leaner than at other larger bulge brackets which allows juniors to have more meaningful engagement with C-Suite clients and senior bankers/management. This also fosters a community where more or less everyone knows everyone at the NYC US HQ. Depending on the team you are on, deal experience can be quite positive where your overall flow can stack quite high with various middle market sized deals. HSBC is a global bank, so connectivity worldwide with clients/internal teams is basically a given. This can result in some pretty interesting/unique deals coming across the desk that you may not see at a comparable mid-sized US bank. Junior bankers have a great work life balance as well compared to other US banks. The culture is less about grinding resources to the bone and instead promotes in depth learning opportunities and growth across the bank. As a starting point and ending point for one's career, HSBC is a pretty great option with good benefits/lifestyle.

Cons

HSBC's US deal flow (in terms of size / bookrunning role) is typically more in the middle compared to other US banks. Rarely is HSBC US Lead Left or considered for an advisory/lead role on US deals (hence probably why there were lots of recent IB layoffs). This can result in pay that is usually less than that of competitors. As a mid-level employee, it seems vertical movement on a team can stall and it may be better to search for opportunities elsewhere (get paid more / learn different things) and then come back to ride into the sunset.

1.0
Apr 5, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Nice colleagues overall - Work-life balance if you are within the 'favoritism' book

Cons

- Toxic bosses - Salary is a disgrace compared to market rate - Transparency is a major concern. Frequent exclusion from crucial information if you are not considered part of the "inner circle." - Line managers / bosses micromanage

Viewing 106 - 108 of 28,233 Reviews

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