HSBC Splits East And West In Major Revamp; Appoints First Female Finance Chief

HSBC has merged some operations and split its geographic footprint into East and West as part of a major restructuring under new CEO Georges Elhedery.

The restructuring comes as HSBC, which employs around 214,000 people globally, looks to eliminate duplicate roles and sharpen its focus on Asia to control costs and boost income. I Photo: N509FZ Wikimedia Commons

The bank also appointed Selena Li as its first female finance chief. Lawrence White and Sinead Cruise reported for Reuters.

The revamp involves combining certain commercial and investment banking operations, as well as a new leadership structure designed to "unleash our full potential and drive success into the future," Elhedery said in a memo to staff.

Pam Kaur, 60, previously HSBC's chief risk and compliance officer, was named the new Chief Financial Officer.

The restructuring comes as HSBC, which employs around 214,000 people globally, looks to eliminate duplicate roles and sharpen its focus on Asia to control costs and boost income.

The move follows declining interest rates that have squeezed profit margins. The group’s operations will now be divided into four business lines: UK, Hong Kong, corporate and institutional banking, and wealth banking.