HSBC : chairman says banks may trigger Brexit contigency plans by March

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC chairman Douglas Flint said some banks may begin triggering their contingency plans in March this year when formal divorce talks start if there is no clarity on whether Britain will retain access to the European single market when it leaves the EU.

Flint said banks need guidance from the UK government on its objectives in the EU divorce talks and ensuring trade agreement.

"For those businesses that don't have infrastructure already in place in Europe, it will start pretty much immediately on the triggering of Article 50," Flint told parliament's Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday.

(Reporting By Andrew MacAskill, editing by Huw Jones)