British banking giant HSBC said that it closed 21 branches across Brazil last year as the Latin American nation saw weak economic activity.
HSBC in a statement said, "We continued to rationalize our branch network, closing 21 branches in areas with lower growth potential as we concentrated our efforts on city clusters with faster-growing revenue pools."
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"The level of economic activity was broadly unchanged in 2014 following growth of 2.5% in 2013, but deteriorating business confidence and the resulting contraction in business investment spending were the main factors behind the economic slowdown," the statement read.
HSBC’s Brazilian operations recorded a pre-tax loss of $247m, compared with a profit of $351m in 2013.
At present, HSBC comprises 853 branches in Brazil according to the central bank website.
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