The British bank HSBC today (April 30) announced that its CEO Noel Quinn is stepping down without naming a clear successor, leaving one of the highest-profile banking jobs in the world up for grabs. Quinn, 62, has been at the helm of HSBC, the eighth largest bank in the world by assets, since 2019. In a statement, Quinn said he intends to pursue a “portfolio career going forward.”
“After an intense five years, it is now the right time for me to get a better balance between my personal and business life,” he said.
Quinn joined HSBC in 1992 following the bank’s acquisition of his former employer, Midland Bank. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Quinn held various leadership roles at HSBC’s offices in North America, Europe and the U.K. He was appointed as interim CEO of HSBC in August 2019 after the departure of his predecessor, John Flint, and was made permanent CEO in March 2020, right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Quinn is lauded for steering the bank through Covid-era uncertainties. HSBC’s London-listed shares have appreciated more than 30 percent during his tenure. The banking CEO “has driven both our transformation strategy and created a simpler, more focused business that delivers higher returns,” HSBC chairman Mark Tucker said in a statement today. “The bank is in a strong position as it enters the next phase of development and growth.”
HSBC said Quinn will remain in his role until a successor is found. The bank said it will consider both internal and external candidates. An internal promotion is more likely given the bank’s track record, according to Bloomberg. Citigroup analysts have floated several promising candidates, including CFO Georges Elhedery, U.K. head Ian Stuart, and Asia-Pacific co-heads Surendra Rosha and David Liao.
“We would expect any new incoming CEO to adopt a more business as usual approach, focused on organic expansion, following the heavy lifting done during Gulliver and Quinn’s tenures,” Citi analysts wrote in a note to clients today reported by Bloomberg.
Also today, HSBC reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations. For the quarter ended March 31, the bank reported $20.8 billion in revenue, up 3 percent from the same period a year ago, and $12.65 billion in quarterly pretax profit, down 2 percent from a year ago.
