HSBC appoints Georges Elhedery as group chief executive

(Reuters) -HSBC Holdings Ltd said on Wednesday it has appointed Georges Elhedery as its group chief executive, with effect from Sept. 2.

Elhedery, who joined HSBC in 2005, is the current chief financial officer and will replace outgoing head Noel Quinn in September.

Quinn, who lead the global lender for five years, will remain CEO until his successor starts in the role, and has agreed to remain available through to the end of his 12-month notice period expiring on April 30, 2025.

Elhedery becomes HSBC’s third CEO in less than eight years.

Quinn oversaw a raft of asset sales, navigated a global pandemic and a push by rebel investors to break up the 160-year bank, and guided the lender to record profit.

The move comes at a time when HSBC, Europe’s largest lender by assets with a balance sheet of $3 trillion, is betting on its historic Asian ties to ramp up profit.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, HSBC has already shrunk its global footprint by around a quarter, exiting low-growth markets to plough capital and resources into Asia.