HSBC has signalled a retreat from its identity as the world's local bank, announcing targeted savings of $2.5bn-$3.5bn over the next two to three years and a likely withdrawal from dozens of retail markets.

Stuart Gulliver, who took over in January as chief executive of Europe’s largest bank by market capitalisation, said on Wednesday he would scale back in both retail banking and wealth management, with only 22 retail operations and a core of 18 wealth businesses generating sufficient returns out of the 87 markets in which HSBC is active.

“We’ve tried to do everything, everywhere, always,” Mr Gulliver said at an investor conference two days after releasing disappointing first-quarter earnings. “We’re not going to do that any more. We don’t necessarily have the ability to be successful everywhere.”