HSBC’s Noel Quinn to step down after 5 years as chief executive

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HSBC’s chief executive Noel Quinn is to retire unexpectedly after five years, setting off a hunt for a successor at the UK-based bank.

Quinn, 62, has overhauled the lender since taking charge in 2019, selling off parts of its global operations to increase its focus on Asia, where it makes the lion’s share of its profits.

“After an intense five years, it is now the right time for me to get a better balance between my personal and business life. I intend to pursue a portfolio career going forward,” said Quinn.

The bank’s board said it had begun a formal process to find a successor and is considering internal and external candidates. The process is expected to be completed by the second half of this year, said chair Mark Tucker.

“The board would like to pay tribute to Noel’s leadership of the company,” said Tucker. “Noel has had a long and distinguished 37-year career at the bank and we are very grateful for his significant contribution to the group over many years.”

HSBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose about 1.5 per cent in the afternoon session on Tuesday, while its London-listed stock increased by 2.5 per cent in early trading.

Quinn joined the lender in 1987 through a subsidiary of Midland Bank, which was bought by HSBC five years later. He was appointed interim chief executive in August 2019 after his predecessor John Flint was ousted from the top job just 18 months into the role. Quinn became permanent chief executive seven months later, a position he said he “would never have dreamt” of having when he joined the bank 37 years ago.

He said he needed “rest and relaxation” after an intense period in the job, which included steering HSBC through the coronavirus pandemic as well as a challenge from the bank’s largest shareholder Ping An to carve out its Asia business.

During his five years as chief executive, Quinn embarked on an extensive restructuring of the lender, cutting 35,000 jobs and pledging to slash annual costs by $4.5bn. His reorientation of the business towards Asia came at a time of increasing geopolitical tension between Washington and Beijing, making the global business environment more complex to navigate.

On a media call on Tuesday, Quinn said he had told Tucker in March of his intention to step down after a period of reflection over the Christmas period and in early 2024.

HSBC said he would remain as group chief executive until his successor’s start and had agreed to remain available through to the end of his notice period in April next year.

Tucker said the bank has had a “succession process in place for many years”, although he declined to answer a question about whether Georges Elhedery, who took up the role of chief financial officer in January last year, is a frontrunner for the post.

Quinn’s plan to leave was announced as the UK-based lender said pre-tax profits for the first three months of 2024 fell nearly 2 per cent to $12.7bn compared with the same period last year, slightly beating analysts’ expectations of $12.6bn.

The bank’s net interest margin, an important measure of lending profitability, rose to 1.63 per cent compared with the previous quarter, the result of higher interest rates and a reflection of the impact of hyperinflation and currency devaluation in Argentina.

The bank this quarter took a $1.1bn hit due to the sale of its Argentina business to banking group Grupo Financiero Galicia but booked a gain of $4.8bn from the sale of its Canadian business this year. The bank has also sold its French retail banking business in recent months and agreed to sell its Russian unit.

HSBC also announced new share buybacks worth up to $3bn, on top of a $2bn buyback announced in February. The bank also announced a 31 cents per share dividend including a first interim dividend of 10 cents.