HSBC Holdings chief executive Noel Quinn is unexpectedly stepping down after nearly five years in the job, triggering a search for a replacement at Europe’s largest bank.
The board has begun a formal process to find a successor, and will consider internal and external candidates, according to a statement on Tuesday.
Mr Quinn will stay on during this process to ensure a smooth transition, it said.
During his tenure, Mr Quinn led a series of strategic reviews that culminated in a plan to boost the bank’s investment in its Asian business, while cutting back in developed western markets such as the US and France.
His departure comes as HSBC navigates the rapid deterioration of US-China ties, undermining the company’s years-long push to expand in Asia.
“Doing this job, you have to give 100 per cent if not 120 per cent of your energy, your mindset your time to the role,” Mr Quinn said on the conference call with journalists.
“You can keep doing that, but that doesn’t necessarily achieve the balance in life that I wanted.”
During Mr Quinn’s tenure, HSBC’s return on tangible equity has soared and profits touched a record last year.
The company’s stock has surged 35 per cent since he took over at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, compared with the 53 per cent advance of the FTSE All-Share Index.
The London-headquartered bank on Tuesday also posted a 1.8 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to $12.65 billion for the first quarter, which topped the $12.6 billion average consensus estimate compiled by the company. The lender also announced a new $3 billion buyback.
This will be the third chief executive search under chairman Mark Tucker, who took over at HSBC in October 2017.
The first came when he appointed Mr Quinn’s predecessor John Flint as chief executive in 2018. Eighteen months later Mr Tucker ousted the HSBC veteran amid disagreements over strategy, and handed the reins to Mr Quinn.
In 2022, Mr Quinn said the promotion of former markets boss Georges Elhedery to chief financial officer was part of the bank’s long-term succession planning.
At the time, he said his “ambition is to make sure there are no less than three and ideally four to five potential succession options that the board could consider within HSBC”.
Mr Quinn began his banking career at British lender Midland Bank in 1987, which HSBC bought in 1992. He spent the majority of his career at HSBC working for the commercial banking unit.
He began thinking seriously about leaving the bank over Christmas and informed Mr Tucker of his intention to retire in recent weeks.
Mr Tucker is aiming to wrap up the chief executive search by the second half of the year.
Mr Quinn was granted “good leaver” status, meaning he is still entitled to his deferred awards and they will continue to vest.
That status is conditional on him not taking up a role with a defined list of competitors following his retirement, HSBC said in its statement.
“We never felt he looked completely comfortable in the role and suspect that Covid was a particularly brutal period running an international business like HSBC,” Perlie Mong, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said in a note to clients.
Still, she said, his departure is “surprising after only four years in the role, particularly as it took seven months as ‘interim’ to actually get the job”.
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• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
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• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
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- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
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Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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