A key element of HSBC’s strategy is a pivot to Asia, and to southern China in particular. But analysts say regulatory obstacles hindering foreign lenders in China will limit the bank’s growth potential on the mainland.

In the run-up to China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation in 2001, many bankers worried that larger, more competitive foreign lenders would overwhelm their Chinese counterparts, a fear embodied in the refrain, “The wolf has arrived.”

As it turned out, foreign banks arrived in China as lambs to the slaughter. While China’s economy grew at breakneck speed, the country’s domestic banks saw profits soar, while foreign lenders including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase as well as HSBC chafed against myriad regulations that stymied growth.