HSBC’s John Flint stepped down as group chief executive and as a director by mutual agreement with the board. He will remain available to assist HSBC during the transition period, although he will not be carrying out his day-to-day duties.
The board has initiated the process to find a new group chief executive, and will be considering internal and external candidates. It has asked Noel Quinn to assume the role of interim group chief executive until a successor is appointed. He will also join the board as an executive director.
Currently, Mr Quinn is chief executive, global commercial banking. This is a position he has held since 2015 and has worked at HSBC for 32 years.
Mark Tucker, group chairman of HSBC, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank John for his personal commitment, dedication and the significant contribution that he has made over his long career at the bank.”
He also commented on the recently released interim results.
According to the freshly published figures, operating income rose 5.1 percent to $27.4 billion in the first half of 2019, driven by positive growth in the retail banking and wealth management (RBWM) division and Asia. This offset a 3.5 percent increase in operating costs, with underlying profits before tax up 6.8 percent to $12.5 billion. Meanwhile, the interim dividend remained unchanged at $0.31 per share, while HSBC has announced a $1 billion share buyback.
Mr Tucker praised Mr Flint’s contributions to HSBC’s performance and believed the bank was well-placed to deliver its strategies, but emphasised that a change was needed.
He said: “Today’s positive interim results particularly reflect John’s achievements as group chief executive. HSBC is in a strong position to deliver on its strategy. In the increasingly complex and challenging global environment in which the bank operates, the board believes a change is needed to meet the challenges that we face and to capture the very significant opportunities before us.”
Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown considered Mr Flint’s exit to be something of a surprise.
He said: “John Flint’s departure and a very cautious outlook statement are overshadowing what are a strong set of results in our opinion. Flint’s only been in the role 18 months, and while his strategy might not be revolutionary it’s certainly not been a disaster, it seems strange to be changing leadership again before reforms have had a chance to bed in.”
Mr Hyett believed that HSBC could be looking for a more radically minded CEO
He added: “With the retail bank doing well when others are struggling, and the outlook for the investment bank set to improve, the change of leadership could be particularly confusing. However, we think the very cautious outlook statement might provide the explanation. With macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds mounting, the HSBC board could be looking for more radical reform, what that will look like remains to be seen.
