HSBC boss explains real reason behind East-West markets split
HSBCʼs top exec denies plans to break-up the bank while explaining new two-region structure. The bankʼs biggest shareholder wanted Asian spin-off but CEO says its just about making things simpler
Georges Elhedery‚ HSBCʼs new boss since early fall‚ strongly denied break-up plans for the 159-year old bank. The re-organization into Eastern and Western markets isnt about splitting the company — its about making things less complex
This is not either a precursor or an intent or a preparation for any split
The Lebanon-born Elhedery (who knows six languages including Mandarin) took charge after Noel Quinn left the top job last summer. The bank is now re-shaping its work from five regions to just two: East (China Hong Kong Middle-East) and West (US UK)
The changes come after Ping An (HSBCs biggest share-holder) wanted to split off Asian business about a year ago. The bank faces a hard job — keeping both Chinese and Western officials happy at once. Last year they got lots of UK criticism when they froze Hong-Kong pro-democracy peoples accounts after Chinese rules made them do it
The bankʼs boss plans big changes to cut down paper-work and some top managers will leave soon: “There will be some de-duplication of governance and reduction of senior roles“ Elhedery said. More info about these plans should come early next yr
The news came as HSBC showed good money results — profits went up 10% to $8.5-billion in summer months (thats more than money-experts thought it would make)
