HSBC appoints insider Georges Elhedery as CEO

HSBC Holdings Plc on Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Georges Elhedery will become group CEO - a choice that highlights the global lender's preference for continuity as it looks to kickstart growth.

Elhedery, 50, who becomes HSBC's third CEO in less than eight years, will replace outgoing head Noel Quinn from Sept. 2. The 160-year-old lender has traditionally appointed its CEO from within.

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Since 2020, Elhedery has been the co-head of the Global Banking and Markets business, the division that houses HSBC's trading and investment banking advisory businesses.

Lebanon-born Elhedery, who began his career in banking as a rates trader before joining HSBC in 2005, was named the surprise successor to Ewen Stevenson as CFO in October 2022, just weeks after returning from a sabbatical.

He also led HSBC's Middle Eastern, North Africa and Turkiye region as the CEO of that division between July 2016 and February 2019.

"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," he said in the bank's statement announcing his appointment.

Quinn, who led the global lender for five years, will remain CEO until his successor starts in the role.

His surprise departure was announced in April, and at that time he had said he wanted a better work-life balance and planned to pursue a portfolio career.

Quinn oversaw a raft of asset sales, navigated a global pandemic and a push by rebel investors to break up the 160-year bank, and guided the lender to record profit.

The move comes at a time when HSBC, Europe's largest lender by assets with a balance sheet of $3 trillion, is betting on its historic Asian ties to ramp up profit.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, HSBC has already shrunk its global footprint by around a quarter, exiting low-growth markets to plough capital and resources into Asia.

The bank's shares have risen 7 percent this year, against an 18 percent gain in the STOXX Europe banks index.

HSBC said it will announce Elhedery's successor as Group CFO in due course. Ahead of the announcement, the bank was exploring financial incentives and reallocating key projects to retain those who miss out on the top job, two people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

HSBC will report its annual results on July 31.

The lender's shares in Hong Kong were trading mostly flat after the announcement.