A very warm welcome to a lass from one of our dearest colonies in the tasteful form of Annabel Spring, an Aussie who had just become chief executive of HSBC global private bank.

I do hope though, this is not a case of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

For Annabel was unwittingly caught up in the bloodbath across Australian wealth management services after a damning regulatory inquiry found extensive abuses in the treatment of clients.

Annabel Spring

One bank, for example, was found to have been charging dead clients commissions over a number of years – a scam which had a certain touch of genius about it. For the dead rarely, if ever, complain, even about morgue mortgage commissions and the like.

Annabel was wealth management chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) until three years ago. That royal commission probe then truly put the cat among the pigeons, particularly at CBA, Australia’s largest bank.

First, CBA boss Ian Narev fell on his sword back in 2017 when regulators launched civil proceedings against the bank for failing to report 53,700 suspicious transactions.

Annabel exited shortly thereafter while the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority announced a special inquiry into governance, culture and accountability at the bank. As far as I am aware, no accusations against her directly have ever been made. Fair dinkum.

She then joined HSBC last year as group head of customers and products within wealth and personal banking – a global role.

Now she has a big job ahead of her. HSBC’s wealth and personal banking division was created earlier this year, when the bank combined its retail banking and wealth management, asset management, insurance and private banking into one department with nearly $1.42 trillion in wealth balances.

Within that, global private banking, which continues to operate as a distinct business unit and brand, impressively grew its client assets to $353 billion, attracting $5.3 billion of net new money in the first half of 2020. So far, so good.

In her new London-based role, Annabel replaces HSBC private banking head António Simões, who left earlier this year to join Santander where he is regional head for Europe.

Hong Kong phooey

So, what nasties will await Annabel and other top HSBC leaders? Well, the row over HSBC’s favouring of China, as it seemingly backs the strict new laws aimed at stifling protests in Hong Kong, must be high on the list.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has repeatedly attacked HSBC for the bank’s alleged treatment of pro-democracy customers in Hong Kong, saying that China is “bullying” the UK.

If HSBC, along with Standard Chartered continues to kow-tow to Beijing, clients elsewhere may well reconsider their alliance to the two banks. Set against this, both will be well aware of the huge prizes available to building wealth businesses in China.

If shooting breaks out over the disputed South China sea, all bets must be off. A fine balance for HSBC, indeed, which will surely need the insight of Confucius.

Internally, the row also poses questions over HSBC Hong Kong’s traditional hold on the group versus the London operations. Do the old guard in HK lose their power in this tricky political climate to the benefit of London-based executives, one may ask?

Jade and kryptonite

Annabel must also be good at PR.

In her previous HSBC job, she was in charge of affluent products like Premier and Jade – an anathema to some private bankers who are afraid that these two offerings could undermine classic private banking services, e.g. retail taking over private banking.

So this is kryptonite to private bankers. Annabel perhaps needs to counter suggestions that she’s a product person rather than a coverage person.

The Matrix Reloaded

Any top executive needs to be skilled at negotiating and influencing with HSBC, a bank which is the most “matrixed” of the matrixed organisations. This means you have a local CEO, and then a regional CEO who oversees multiple business lines, when you are trying to promote your own private bank agenda.

So she has a tough gig ahead of her. Still, she is not a classic private banker so, if she succeeds with a touch of good feng shui, her ambitions could take her to the upper echelons of HSBC in coming years. Personally, I foresee a great future ahead of her.

London luxury

Meanwhile, I hope Annabel and fellow-Australian Peter Stokes find a London home of the standard they had gotten used to in Sydney.

They flogged off their luxury house (pictured above) in Centennial Park a couple of years back, at a guide price of A$12 million (about £6.8 million). Peter is the London-based senior managing director of Telecom Network Finance at Macquarie Group.

Annabel should certainly qualify for a jumbo mortgage. Her final payment from CBA was A$4 million including termination pay of A$1.37 million.

Surely enough to play a decent game of Two Up in the prime London real estate market?

Pip pip, no worries