HSBC names insider John Flint as CEO

HSBC Holdings named John Flint as its next chief executive officer after new Chairman Mark Tucker opted not to break with tradition and tapped a long-serving insider to run Europe’s largest bank. Flint, 49, currently head of retail banking and wealth management, HSBC’s largest division, will take over from incumbent Stuart Gulliver in February, according to a statement on Thursday. He joined the bank’s management training program in 1989 and rose through the ranks of its Asian trading floor before returning to Europe 13 years ago to take on senior roles spanning the consumer and investment banking sides of the business. He’s been treasurer, deputy head of markets, chief of staff and head of strategy. By picking a 28-year veteran, Tucker, an HSBC outsider who replaced Douglas Flint as chairman, has bowed to the lender’s tradition of spurning CEO candidates without a lengthy history at the firm.