HSBC kicks off hunt for chairman's successor

Agencies

HSBC's (0005) board has appointed headhunters to start the recruitment of its next chairman, Sky News reported, with incumbent Mark Tucker due to stand down by 2026.

The London-listed, Asia-focused bank has assigned headhunters including MWM Consulting to run the process, and will consider both existing non-executive directors and outsiders to succeed Tucker, the report said, citing sources.

A spokesperson for HSBC Holdings declined to comment on the report.

Tucker, who became HSBC's chairman in March 2017, broke with tradition as the first outsider to assume the role.

He joined Europe's largest bank from Hong Kong-based insurer AIA (1299), succeeding long-time insider Douglas Flint during a period of strategic pivot towards Asia, where the bank makes the bulk of its revenue.

The leadership transition coincides with HSBC navigating global macroeconomic challenges and geopolitical tensions, balancing its historic London headquarters with its key growth market in Asia.

In other news, Britain's banks may be putting extra money aside to cover bad loans due to confusion around the country's faulty labor market data.

Lenders use the unemployment rate alongside other metrics including GDP, property prices, inflation and interest rates, to try to project how many people will default on their loans. However, the UK's Office for National Statistics has been struggling to collect sufficient and accurate data on employment trends, leading to severe criticism from central bankers and politicians.

HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest had 21.8 billion (HK$216.04 billion) of provisions set aside globally at the end of last year to cover debts that could sour.

In an interim report earlier this year, HSBC highlighted a risk to its projections from "estimation and forecast uncertainty for UK unemployment given ongoing methodology updates at the UK Office for National Statistics."