HSBC Holdings has assigned additional responsibilities to country heads in some smaller Asian markets as part of its efforts to streamline operations and eliminate management layers.
According to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News, Peter Kim will take on the role of head of banking alongside his position as chief executive officer in Korea, effective March 1.
Similarly, Tim Evans will hold both roles in Vietnam. A spokesperson for HSBC confirmed the contents of the memo.
“The changes will create a simple organisation that will be better placed to deliver best-in-class service to our customers and are designed to accelerate the execution of our strategic objectives,”
the spokesperson stated.
In Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand, Omar Siddiq, Adam Chen, and Giorgio Gamba will assume dual roles.
However, some commercial and global banking staff applied for new positions but were not selected, according to sources familiar with the matter.
HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, who took over last year, has been implementing significant changes to reduce costs, complexity, and job redundancy.
Under his leadership, the bank has merged its commercial banking division with its global banking and markets unit and has scaled back some investment banking operations in Europe and the Americas.
Late last year, HSBC required hundreds of managers to reapply for positions within its newly formed corporate and institutional banking division.
The bank is also discontinuing the use of the “general manager” title for some senior staff, instead adopting “managing director,” a title more commonly used in major financial institutions, sources said.
The memo also revealed that HSBC will appoint a new head of banking, international markets, to oversee operations in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mauritius, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
For its “priority markets” of China, India, and Singapore, the bank has named Zhenyi Tang, Ajay Sharma, and Gilbert Ng as heads of banking
