HSBC has named its finance chief, Georges Elhedery, as its new chief executive, handing the reins to an international bank veteran as the global lender steels itself for fresh tensions between the US and China.
Elhedery, who will take on the post in September, will replace Noel Quinn, who in April made the unexpected announcement that he was stepping down after an “intense” five years in charge.
It continues a long tradition of HSBC appointing insiders to the top role, including Quinn, who began his career in 1987 at the bank which was previously known as the Midland.
Elhedery joined HSBC in 2005 and has held roles including co-chief executive of its global banking and markets division, and head of HSBC’s operations in the Middle East, north Africa and Turkey regional business between 2016 and 2019.
He was hired at the bank after a four-year stint at Goldman Sachs in the early 2000s, having launched his career with Banque Paribas in Tokyo in 1997.
His latest promotion as HSBC chief executive comes just 18 months after he took over as chief financial officer in January last year.
HSBC said Elhedery’s appointment was the result of an “orderly and robust succession process”, which also considered external candidates. Its chair, Mark Tucker, who led the search, said Elhedery was the “outstanding candidate” who had a record of “driving growth, delivering simplification and containing costs”.
The Lebanese-born and Mandarin-speaking banker was also praised by bosses for his “deep international perspectives”, which are likely to come into play as he navigates fresh tension between the Washington and Beijing.
The bank, which makes the bulk of its profits in Asia, will be sensitive to any aggressive rhetoric from Donald Trump if the former president and his recently selected running mate JD Vance win the US leadership race in November.
“We look forward to working together as he leads HSBC through the next phase of development and growth,” Tucker said of Elhedery’s appointment.
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Quinn will continue to lead HSBC over the next six-and-a-half weeks and remain on call to help with Elhedery’s transition until the current chief executive’s gardening leave period comes to an end on 30 April next year.
The announcement comes two weeks before HSBC reveals its second-quarter results, which could reveal concerns over weaker growth in China, as well as the start of a rate-cutting cycle that would put pressure on the bank’s net interest income. However, a rebound in demand for investment banking services, which has buoyed Wall Street rivals, could help offset some of those concerns.
HSBC reported a 1.8% drop in pre-tax profit to $12.7bn (£10.1bn) in the first three months of 2024, better than analysts had forecast, allowing it to hand more cash back to investors. Revenues increased by 3% to $20.8bn over the first quarter.
Quinn’s departure will end five years at the top of HSBC, having been promoted on an interim basis after the ousting of the previous boss John Flint, who was in place for just 18 months.
In that period, Quinn navigated the bank through the pandemic and slashed 35,000 jobs to save £3.5bn a year. He also fended off demands from the top shareholder Ping An to split off HSBC’s lucrative Asian business, and managed to partly appease critics by selling off and shrinking some global operations, including in Canada and France.
Elhedery’s promotion will come with a generous pay package, made up of a base salary of £1.38m a year, a fixed allowance of £1.7m and a pension allowance of £137,600. Elhedery will also be eligible for an annual bonus worth up to 215% of his base salary, and a long-term incentive award scheme worth 320% of his salary.
Elhedery said: “Working together with our talented team, I look forward to delivering exceptional value to our clients and investors by driving strong performance on a sustainable growth trajectory.”
