HSBC Holdings has announced a major overhaul of its operations, which will see the merging of its commercial and investment banking operations, the split of its business across East and West geographies and historic appointments to its leadership team.
The strategy, implemented under the leadership of the company’s new CEO’s, Georges Elheder, included the naming of the bank’s first female CFO in its 159-year history, Pam Kaur, to fill the role left vacant by Elheder’s appointment.
With over 40 years of experience, Kau joined HSBC in 2013 as Head of Internal Audit, having held roles at Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. Since then, she has held leadership positions at HSBC, including that of Chief Risk and Compliance Officer.
HSBC also announced a reduction in its executive committee from 18 to 12 members, renaming it the Group Operating Committee. As part of the shake-up, Greg Guyett is set to take on a new role as Chair of the Strategic Clients Group, while Europe head Colin Bell and Middle East head Stephen Moss are said to be departing the business. Jon Bingham, interim Group CFO, is expected to resume his previous role as Global Financial Controller.
The new leadership structure is expected to “unleash our full potential and drive success into the future,” according to a memo Elhedery sent to staff, CNN reported.
HSBC’s major restructuring includes the consolidation of its operations into four business units: UK, Hong Kong, corporate and institutional banking, and wealth banking, according to regulatory filings provided to the Hong Kong bourse, where its shares are listed.
The bank has also overhauled its geographic setup to create two divisions, “Eastern markets” and “Western markers”. The former will bring together the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. The latter will be comprised of Continental Europe, the Americas and its UK business, excluding the retail bank.
HSBC, which employs about 214,000 people globally, said the reorganisation aimed to remove duplicate roles and shift its focus to Asia to reduce costs and bolster income. The impact of the restructuring on roles has not been disclosed.
“The new structure will result in a simpler, more dynamic and agile organization as we focus on executing against our strategic priorities, which remain unchanged,” Elhedery added in a statement sent to the New York Times.
Following the announcement, the bank’s shares were flat in early London trade Tuesday, while the UK-listed stock was higher than 6% over the year-to-date.
