HSBC: Will stay in Turkey despite blasts

[Socialist Christian]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=Turkey%20HSBC

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LONDON -- HSBC Holdings PLC, the world's second biggest financial institution, dismissed any suggestion that it would pull out of Turkey after Thursday's terrorist bombings in Istanbul.

London-based HSBC said that "a number" of its staff had been injured or killed by bomb blasts at two of its buildings in Istanbul. The exact number of casualties was not immediately clear, it said.

HSBC temporarily closed all its Turkish branches on the advice of authorities but said it planned to reopen them on Friday. It opened its first office in Turkey in 1990.

"We would like to confirm that HSBC remains totally committed to its business in Turkey. This is an important country for our Group and one we have served for over a decade. There is absolutely no question of HSBC withdrawing from Turkey," HSBC chief executive Stephen Green said in a statement.

[mobuto]

1. This is important

But what about other banks and businesses? Will they stay in Turkey? If not, the terrorists will have accomplished everything they wanted.