Pros
Prestigious name (just about) - HSBC still remains one of the world's biggest and oldest financial institutions. Pension - One of the strongest in the financial services sector. 'Lifer's in Back Office accrue huge pensions! Salary - HSBC pays above market rate for the level of work performed. A lot of roles in Head Office include back office processing by individuals on high salaries (and costly pension programs).
Cons
Chaotic - HSBC is still incredibly disjointed, with basic systems not working, PC's crashing and not even having functioning lifts and building passes (this was none other than Head Office!) Culture - HSBC is still in the dark ages with how it operates. There is a clear divide between Junior Management (G4) and those beneath within departments. There are clear themes of nepotism which breeds only a shielded culture and no openness or willingness to admit fault. Competencies - Unfortunately, a lot of staff are not equipped to work within the sector. Hires are usually based upon whom managers personally like as opposed to just capability based therefore staff are generally within their 40's as an average and not exactly dynamic & challenging. This unfortunately maintains the same poor standard and people do not think, they just do. Progression - forget about it. Speak to any former employee and they will repeat that there is a glass ceiling; Junior/Middle Management look after their own and that's it therefore sadly progression just does not happen. Performance reviews are designed to talk you down for fear of creating more work in having to recruit new people therefore it's no surprise to see back office analysts at the age of 39!