With our headquarters in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world. HSBC's international network has around 8,000 offices in 88 countries and territories across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa.
We are listed on the London, Hong Kong, New York and Paris stock exchanges, and shares in HSBC Holdings plc are held by around 220,000 shareholders in 119 countries and territories.
We have a unique international pedigree. Many of our principal companies opened for business over 100 years ago. The founding company from which HSBC took its name, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, was founded in 1865 to finance trade between China and Europe. In the UK, Midland Bank, which merged with HSBC in 1992, was founded in Birmingham in 1836.
HSBC's commitment to sustainability was recognised by the Sunday Times in June 2010 when we were listed in their Best Green Companies List. The List recognises companies at the forefront of improving their environmental performance, and looked at our environmental policies, energy consumption, recycling systems and our carbon footprint.
The HSBC Climate Partnership sees HSBC working with four world-class environmental charities; the Earthwatch Institute, the Climate Group, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the WWF. Its goals include creating cleaner, greener cities in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai and New York, and protecting some of the world's major rivers.
HSBC in the Community helps employees to volunteer their time and talent for local educational and environmental projects. So far in 2010, over 1100 members of UK staff have been involved in Local Community projects, volunteering over 4,500 hours of their time.
