.HSBC New gTLD Application
Click to view Chinese translation articles.
-----------------------------------
New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: HSBC Holdings PLC
Application Downloaded On: 09 Jan 2014
String: HSBC
Application ID: 1-1689-20699
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
HSBC Holdings PLC
- Address of the principal place of business
8 Canada Square
Canary Wharf London - E14 5HQ GB
- Phone number
+44 20 7991 8888
- Fax number
+44 20 7992 4880
- If applicable, website or URL
http://www.hsbc.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Martin Sutton
6(b). Title
Manager, Group Fraud Risk and Intelligence
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+44 20 7991 8074
6(e). Fax Number
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Lorna Gradden
7(b). Title
Operations Director
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+442074218250
7(e). Fax Number
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Publicly Limited Company
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
United Kingdom
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
London_Stock_Exchange / HSBA
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Name
Position
Andrew Alexander Flockhart Executive Director
Douglas Jardine Flint Group Chairman
Gwyn Morgan Non-Executive Director
Iain James Mackay Group Finance Director
James Wyndham John Hughes-Hallett Non-Executive Director
Janis Rachel Lomax Non-Executive Director
Joachim Faber Non-Executive Director
John David Coombe Non-Executive Director
John Lawson Thornton Non-Executive Director
John Phillip Lipsky Non-Executive Director
Laura May Lung Cha Non-Executive Director
Marvin Kin Tung Cheung Non-Executive Director
Nagavaro Ramarao Narayana Murthy Non-Executive Director
Rona Alison Fairhead Non-Executive Director
Safra Ada Catz Non-Executive Director
Sir Robert Brian Williamson Non-Executive Director
Sir Simon Manwaring Robertson Deputy Chairman, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Stuart Thomson Gulliver Non-Executive Director
William Samuel Hugh Laidlaw Non-Executive Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Alan McAlpine Keir Global Head of Commercial Banking
Bella Ann Almeida Group Head of Human Resources and Corporate Sustainability
Brian Robertson Chief Executive, HSBC Bank plc
Menasey Marc Moses Group Chief Risk Officer
Paul Anthony Thurston Chief Executive, Retail Banking and Wealth Management
Peter Tung Shun Wong Chief Executive, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Ralph Gordon Barber Group Company Secretary
Richard Ernest Tulloch Bennett Group General Counsel
Samir Assaf Chief Executive, Global Banking and Markets
Sean Patrick O'Sullivan Group Chief Operating Officer
Stuart A Levey Chief Legal Officer
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
HKSCC Nominees Limited N/A
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
HSBC
14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry. An IDN table must include:
the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,
the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),
table version number,
effective date (DD Month YYYY), and
contact name, email address, and phone number.
Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.
15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
As the applied-for gTLD string is not an IDN and is consistent with the requirements of the Applicant Guidebook Section 2.2.1.3.2 (String Requirements), HSBC Holdings PLC does not believe there are any known operational or rendering problems concerning the string.
- OPTIONAL.
Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 7,500 offices in over 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,556bn at 31 December 2011, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.
HSBC’s core values underline a commitment to connecting and communicating effectively with its wide range of customers, whilst being open to new and diverse ideas which may help strengthen the business. Dedication to outstanding customer service means HSBC continually strives for new and improved ways of ensuring the integrity of its customers’ data online; investment in a new gTLD for .HSBC provides the means to strengthen this approach through a stable and secure platform that is within the direct control of HSBC.
The mission of the .HSBC registry is:
To promote secure internet communication between members of the HSBC Group and key audiences including its customers and consumers of HSBC services, whilst protecting the HSBC brand at all times.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, internet users and others?
The key benefits expected to be derived from .HSBC are:
- Increased security and consumer trust for Internet users. Ownership of domains in the .HSBC registry will be restricted to the HSBC Group, providing confidence to users that the content and communications are authentic, secure and reliable.
- For HSBC, it will create a platform for future innovation and provide greater protection of our global brand on the Internet (the #1 brand in banking and financial services, according to the Brand Finance Banking 500 report, 01 Feb 2012)
HSBC will contribute to the ICANN Community by playing its role in the relevant constituencies along with other Dot Brand owners. HSBC is looking forward to providing a fresh perspective on policy issues that may contribute to ICANN’s policy development process, particularly in areas such as the protection of IP rights, the protection of registrant data, and the accuracy of WHOIS information.
What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels or reputation?
HSBC prides itself on its reputation as a responsible institution and on the integrity of its brand, and this will extend to its new gTLD, .HSBC. We want .HSBC to protect and enhance the reputation of HSBC on the Internet, whilst improving consumer confidence in online interactions with HSBC and encouraging confidence in the Internet itself.
What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?
We hope that the .HSBC registry will help us stand out from our competitors as an innovative organisation in terms of the importance we give to Internet security, stability and risk reduction. A new gTLD will be a market differentiator by providing a mechanism for development in these areas and keep us in the forefront of this arena.
What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
Our aim is to provide user support which adheres to the same high service levels with which HSBC carries out its core business functions. The lifecycle management of domains in the .HSBC registry including day to day transactions such as new registration requests, renewals, modifications or lapses will be processed carefully and in accordance to policy: a registrar will be chosen on the basis of rigorous selection criteria and they will have to undergo periodic assessments to ensure they continue to comply with both ICANN and financial services industry requirements (although HSBC will operate a single registrar model, more than one registrar may occasionally be required, for example, during transition if the registry decided to change its designated registrar to a different provider). The experience of users of the .HSBC registry will thus be similar to that of HSBC clients and partners: professional and rewarding.
The .HSBC registry is being designed to be 100% ICANN compliant. This means that enquiries from ICANN representatives or from third parties in regard to domains in the registry or the policies of the registry will be managed in a professional manner and in a timely fashion according to documented procedures. As a regulated company, HSBC understands the importance of assisting law enforcement representatives or providing accurate information on registrants and registration activities to ICANN compliance staff.
Provide a complete description of the applicants intended registration policies in support of the goals above
The HSBC Domain Name Management team is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of the .HSBC Domain Management Policy (HDMP), on behalf of the HSBC Group. This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the terms governing the use of a .HSBC domain name and describes the dispute resolution policies for the .HSBC TLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect HSBC’s commercial and strategic interests and the latest financial services industry standards and, where appropriate, ICANN consensus policies. The policy is summarised below. It is subject to change:
Registration of a .HSBC domain name is undertaken in four steps: (i) Eligibility Confirmation, (ii) Naming Convention Check, (iii) Acceptable Use Review, and finally (iv) Registration.
An eligibility check will be undertaken. Domains in the .HSBC registry cannot be assigned to third parties except with the approval of the HSBC Domain Name Management team.
At any time, the HSBC Domain Name Management team may instigate an Eligibility Reconsideration Process which could result in the cancellation of a domain in the .HSBC registry.
All domains in the .HSBC registry will remain the property of the HSBC Group.
Checks will be undertaken to ensure that applied for character strings conform to the .HSBC Naming Conventions. Each applied for A-Label character string must conform to the .HSBC rules of eligibility. Each .HSBC name must:
- be at least 1 character and no more than 63 characters long
- not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (except for IDNs)
- contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these
- start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen
- not match any character strings reserved by ICANN
- not match any protected country names or territory names
Internationalized domain names (IDN) will be supported in the .HSBC registry under certain circumstances at the second level.
Checks will be undertaken to ensure that the intended use of each .HSBC domain conforms to the .HSBC Acceptable Use policy. These terms of use may be updated from time to time like all of this policy:
- Domains must be used solely for purposes that enhance the strategic or commercial interests of HSBC Group.
- .HSBC domains may not be used in a way which knowingly infringes third party intellectual property rights.
- .HSBC domains must not be used for any criminal purposes, including, but not limited to phishing, malware download or fraudulent activities.
- A .HSBC registration must be an acceptable term that will not give rise to any moral or public order questions or in any way damage the strategic interests or reputation of the HSBC Group.
- Domains may not be delegated or assigned to external organisations, institutions, or individuals without the permission of the HSBC Group.
- For any .HSBC domain which points to an IP address, the IP address must be approved by HSBC. All .HSBC domains must be linked to a digital certificate.
- Any .HSBC domain intending to display personal information, financial records, or the transacting of financial activities must be linked to an EV certificate.
- All .HSBC domains will carry accurate and up to date registration records. If there is no special requirement for a WHOIS record to carry unique information, all .HSBC registrations will feature a template registration record to be created by the HSBC Domain Management team in compliance with the financial services panel.
The HSBC Domain Name Management Team may revoke a .HSBC domain name at any time without notice for the reasons outlined below, which may be amended from time to time:
- Eligibility Reconsideration: if there is a change in status of the requestor of a domain, for example if the requestor ceases to be a member of HSBC Group;
- Breach of warranty: if a warranty is breached;
- Incorrect information: if misleading, incomplete or incorrect information is supplied in an application;
- Following a UDRP, URS or court decision: if a UDRP or URS panel decision or court of competent authority determines that a .HSBC domain name should no longer be licensed to the Registrant, it shall be removed from the registry. Domains in the .HSBC registry cannot be transferred to third parties. They can only be cancelled.
- Improper use: if the .HSBC domain name fails to comply with the .HSBC Acceptable Use Policy, or ceases to be in the interests of HSBC Group.
- If instructed by an eligible authorised representative of HSBC Group.
Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users?
As a single entity registry, only HSBC details will be shown in the WHOIS, so no personal or confidential information of registrants will available. Nonetheless, data privacy is something which the company takes seriously. HSBC not only deals with a vast amount of sensitive personal information, but is subject to stringent regulation from financial services regulators across a number of jurisdictions. HSBC reviews and enhances measures to protect confidential information every year. The .HSBC registry plans to implement measures building on this experience to protect the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users (such as those querying the registry WHOIS server) of the .HSBC registry.
As the .HSBC registry will be incorporated in the European Union, all data will be processed in conformity with the European Data Protection Directive and those of the relevant financial services regulator. As required, approved personnel will be registered as data handlers.
Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits?
No outreach will be actively undertaken on an external basis due to the fact that domain registration will be closed to third parties. However the HSBC Group will undertake internal outreach and communication to ensure that .HSBC domains are used in accordance with HSBC’s objectives. For example, guidelines will be produced and published on the HSBC intranet, incorporated as part of Domain Governance, defining who can apply for a .HSBC domain to be registered and how it can be used. To assist internet users beyond HSBC to understand that .HSBC domains are genuine and can be trusted as signposts to authentic information or services, HSBC will create a home page for the registry with clear messaging regarding policies and contact information.
18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g. time or financial resource costs as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?
We do not expect our use of the .HSBC registry to impact in any negative way upon internet users because there will be no market in .HSBC domains.
How will multiple applications for a particular domain be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first come first served basis?
Domains in the .HSBC registry will not be sold. They will be requested by members of HSBC Group who will meet strictly enforced terms of registration and use and all registrants will be part of the HSBC Group. Therefore the possibility of multiple applications is very remote. Domains will be provisioned in line with the commercial and strategic goals of HSBC.
Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Cost benefits will not be required because domains in the .HSBC registry are not being offered for sale on the open market. There will be no third party registrants. The only registrant will be from within the HSBC Group.
The Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than 10 years. Additionally the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation?
Domains in the .HSBC registry will be registered only to entities within the HSBC Group so there will be no revenue generated from the sale of domains. In relation to price escalation, there will be no requirement for contractual commitments. HSBC will comply with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement.
Before launching this TLD, HSBC will develop and publish its policies and guidelines on the registry home page, setting out full details of how the registry will implement its vision and purpose as set out in this answer. HSBC may adapt its policies and proposed use of the gTLD, in a manner consistent with the Purpose, to reflect changes in its business, the adoption of new gTLDs by the community or as a result of ICANN policy changes.