HSBC: Tucker’s choice

Noel Quinn’s surprise departure as CEO of HSBC has “placed fresh focus on an uncomfortable dilemma” for the old “Honkers and Shankers”, said Michael Bow in The Daily Telegraph. Will Quinn’s exit “tilt the London-based bank’s centre of gravity more firmly towards its dominant market in Hong Kong?” Several internal candidates are already in the frame, including finance chief Georges Elhedery. But there has been speculation that the new chief could come from the ranks of HSBC’s Asian businesses – perhaps as a sop to its largest shareholder, the Chinese insurer Ping An, which has been trying to strongarm the bank into spinning off its Asian wing. Chairman Mark Tucker refused to be drawn on who he will appoint as the third CEO on his watch. Tucker is “an apex predator”, who “brutally fired” Quinn’s predecessor, said Oliver Shah in The Sunday Times. But since Tucker is scheduled to sling his own hook in 2026, this is “dubious choreography from a governance point of view”. Far better that a new chair appoint their own chief executive “than inherit Tucker’s choice”. Whoever lands the job can expect a return to risk reward, said Lawrence White on Reuters. After a change in UK policy, shareholders have backed a resolution to lift a cap on the size of HSBC bonuses.