Letters of credit (L/Cs) will be available six days a week in HSBC Bank Middle East's expansion plan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its business banking franchise.

The bank has opened the first of its series of Business Banking Centres dedicated to serving the needs of businesses of all sizes in the rapidly growing Sharjah Industrial Area. The bank says it will launch similar centres across the UAE over the next few months.

One stop shop

According to HSBC the new centre will offer a one-stop-shop for customers to submit applications for new corporate accounts, discuss banking and cash management requirements, apply for business banking packages, Internet banking or business credit cards.

Customers can apply for L/Cs, collections and shipping guarantees. Business ATM and cash and cheque deposit machines will also be available.

Long hours

The centre has long opening hours, remaining open from Saturday to Thursday from 8.30am to 5pm.

Sharjah is home to the majority of the UAE's small business sector, and it seems HSBC is focused on providing a service specifically geared up for smaller enterprises.

Expansion

Keith Bradley, regional head of commercial banking at HSBC Bank Middle East said the bank is "is committed to rapidly expanding its support for small businesses throughout the UAE."

"The opening of the Business Banking Centre in Sharjah is the first step in a major programme to up-grade our service offering for small businesses," he added.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.