HSBC CEO Quinn Urges Managers to Go Faster With Bank Overhaul
HSBC CEO Quinn Urges Managers to Go Faster With Bank Overhaul
(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc’s overhaul isn’t happening fast enough for Noel Quinn.
The chief executive officer told more than 200 of the bank’s most senior managers in recent weeks that they need to accelerate a sweeping restructuring that’s designed to boost returns, according to people familiar with the matter. In a bid to hasten change, Quinn is pushing for more authority to be delegated to regional managers, the people said, requesting anonymity to discuss private talks.
Streamlining the mammoth bank is proving difficult. Some executives are starting to doubt that the 35,000 job cuts announced in February will be enough to revive Europe’s biggest lender, people familiar with the matter have said.
A spokeswoman for the bank in London declined to comment.
The restructuring, which impacts offices from New York to London, is a key plank of management’s plan to revive Europe’s largest bank. The added urgency comes at a time when HSBC is navigating mounting political tensions between Washington and China and a worsening economic backdrop in many of its markets.
The lender, which makes the bulk of its profit in Asia, reports earnings Monday, when investors will get a fuller picture of how key businesses are performing. HSBC is expected to post a drop in profit because of weakness in its key U.K. and Hong Kong markets.
Further changes are expected. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have said an update could come as soon as this coming Monday on its restructuring. Chairman Mark Tucker is overseeing a review of HSBC’s U.S. and European operations with an eye toward unloading businesses beyond repair. HSBC has said it could wind down or sell its U.S. retail business, having already said it would shrink its 224-strong U.S. branch network by about 30%.
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