HSBC rejects break-up call, promises higher quarterly dividend

Hard-sells growth plan to disgruntled investors

Soon after rebuffing a break-up plan by its top investor, HSBC fielded questions from disgruntled retail investors on Tuesday and its executives defended their strategy to operate as a global bank at its first meeting in Hong Kong in three years.

The London-headquartered lender is under pressure from Ping An Insurance Group Co of China to explore options including spinning off its mainstay Asia business to increase shareholder returns.

HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn were grilled for more than an hour by investors on the bank's strategy for dividends and growth in the meeting, attended by hundreds of shareholders