HSBC Singapore said it was now in talks with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to set up a local subsidiary for its retail operations there.
The UK-based bank currently operates under the city state's Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) scheme and is thought to be complying with local requests lodged in June to establish a local entity, which will require meeting more stringent capital requirements.
HSBC currently has seven live retail structured products out of a total of 118 issues in the market.
The MAS has already considered granting locally incorporated QFBs an additional 25 business locations, 10 of which could be used as branches.
HSBC already has nine branches in the city as well as more than 10 self-service terminals.
"We intend to make Singapore a critical hub for HSBC here in Asia," said Alex Hungate, chief executive of HSBC Singapore. "So we do hope to add additional places of business here in Singapore, and we are talking to MAS about local incorporation in line with their announcements on 28 June."