By Megan Cheah


The Hong Kong-listed stocks of U.K. banks and insurers that ply most of their trade in Asia declined Friday on concerns that new regulations could curb mainland Chinese investors' use of Hong Kong bank accounts.

Insurer Prudential PLC's shares dropped 4.8%, while lender Standard Chartered's stock slid 5.1%. HSBC shares fell 3.1%.

The moves mirror falls in their London-listed shares on Thursday, with Prudential closing 7.6% lower, Standard Chartered ending 2.8% lower and HSBC declining 1.8%.

Insurer AIA also fell in Hong Kong, continuing a 6.75% decline from Thursday. The shares are last 2.9% lower.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission on May 22 detailed a set of new rules, which included requiring that prospective customers' funds originate from outside mainland China.

A report published by the South China Morning said the new rules are starting to weigh on financial institutions in the region. A Shanghai HSBC branch said all funds deposited into investment accounts must comply with the Hong Kong authority's new rules, according to the report.

Citi analysts said the selloff in HSBC's and StanChart's shares appears to be overdone. While a meaningful part of HSBC and StanChart's wealth revenue relates to Asia or China, a vast majority of net new money from high-net-worth individuals already sit offshore, and the Citi analysts therefore see limited impact from the new rules.

However, Citi said the rules could drag on future planned growth in these banks' Hong Kong retail and affluent balances.

Assuming zero new Hong Kong retail or premier nonresident Chinese account openings, HSBC's 2028 revenue could be reduced by around $1 billion, which equates to around 2% of group profit before tax, Citi said. StanChart's could drop by $200 million, it added.

Hong Kong lender Bank of East Asia said its China branch only offers an attestation service for opening deposit accounts in Hong Kong for mainland Chinese residents with "reasonable justification." This service remains available, it said. Bank of East Asia's shares were last 1.5% lower.

Meanwhile, insurers are likely affected by the rules as mainland Chinese customers are significant buyers of insurance products.

Prudential's Hong Kong shares have been on a largely losing streak since May 22, down around 14%. AIA's shares are down around 12% over the same period.

Prudential and AIA didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Standard Chartered and HSBC acknowledged receipt of the request but didn't provide a comment.


Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-05-26 0124ET