Pros
I found that HSBC paid more handsomely than other global banks in the same tier. When I worked there, they were more liberal with employee expenses than other comparable banks.
Cons
Be prepared to be micromanaged. It is corporate culture at it's worst, don't know if that stems from being a British bank or just weak management. It seemed like it was a company comprised of all middle management types, not a ton of all stars there, not very inspiring. The culture predicates you must look out for yourself, even if it's at the expense of a colleague. There is a lot of button pushing. At times, I felt like management was more concerned about completing menial activity tracking tasks as opposed to actually generating revenue. You have a role and you are expected to only act within said role. There is no allowance for creativity, thinking outside the box, or taking an entrepreneurial role to your job. Very rigid structure, everybody just tries to manage up, which is ironic bc everybody seems to be a low level manager. People there work scared. Major disconnect between the various divisions of the bank.