HSBC is planning to replace investment banking head Samir Assaf as part of a broader set of senior management changes.
Investment banking head Samir Assaf will be replaced by another as part of a broader set of forthcoming senior management changes, «Reuters» reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The management change comes ahead of a new strategy announcement expected at or before the lender's full-year results announcement in February.
However, he will stay on with the business in a senior role, the source said. Employees have not yet been informed in an internal communication about the change, separate HSBC sources told Reuters.
Last Man Standing
Assaf, 59, has run the lender’s global banking and markets division since 2011. Assaf is considered one of London's best-known and most-respected bankers, having joined HSBC in 2000. In an interview with financial news (behind paywall) two years ago, he described himself as the «last man standing» in U.K. investment banking.
Interim Chief Executive Noel Quinn is currently reviewing the lender’s worldwide businesses, and the slower growth seen within its global banking and markets business is glaring. The division saw revenues grow by only 1 percent in 2018 versus 8 percent and 12 percent for the retail and commercial banking divisions respectively.
Not Acceptable
The bank reported profits of $2.97 billion in the three months ended September 30, compared to $3.89 billion in the same period last year. «Parts of our business, especially Asia, held up well in a challenging environment in the third quarter,» said Quinn, as reported by finews.asia earlier.
However, Quinn called performance elsewhere «not acceptable» underlining business activities within continental Europe and the non-ring-fenced bank in the U.K. and the U.S.
