HSBC Holdings, one of Britain’s biggest banks and Europe’s biggest lender by market value, is preparing to launch the hunt for its next chairman.
Sky News has learned that HSBC’s board has appointed headhunters to orchestrate the recruitment of the successor to Mark Tucker, who has held the role since 2017.
City sources said this weekend that research firm MWM Consulting was among the pioneers to lead the process.
Mr Tucker, the former boss of Prudential and Hong Kong-based insurer AIA, is expected to resign around the time of HSBC’s annual meeting in spring 2026.
Leaders said Saturday, however, that he could leave sooner depending on the pace of the process.
Whoever succeeds Mr. Tucker could find himself thrust into the heart of any new trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.
As a financial giant with deep ties to China and the United States, HSBC is deeply exposed to escalating trade and diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The search for HSBC’s next chairman is being coordinated at board level by Ann Godbehere, the bank’s senior independent non-executive director.
Sources said the complex nature of HSBC’s chairmanship – one of the flagship tasks of British business and global banking – meant it made sense to begin preparations for a transfer of power almost 18 months after the arrival of a new president.
Mark Tucker oversaw a rapid change in leadership upon his appointment in 2017. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
When he was appointed in 2017, Mr Tucker became the first outsider to hold the position in the bank’s 152-year history – and one which enjoys a strong street presence thanks to the acquisition of Midland Bank in 1992.
He oversaw a rapid change in management, appointing banking industry veteran John Flint to replace Stuart Gulliver as chief executive.
The transition did not go well, however, with Mr Tucker deciding to sack Mr Flint after just 18 months.
He was replaced on an interim basis by Noel Quinn in the summer of 2018, with this change becoming permanent in April 2020.
Mr. Quinn held the position for another four years before deciding to resign. In July, he was replaced by Georges Elhedery, a longtime executive in HSBC’s markets unit and most recently the bank’s chief financial officer.
Mr Tucker appointed Noel Quinn as chief executive in 2018. File photo: AP
The new chief’s first big move in the top job was to unveil a radical reorganization of HSBC that will transform it into operations in both eastern and western markets.
It also decided to merge its commercial and investment banking businesses into a single division.
The restructuring, which, according to Mr. Elhedery, “would result in a simpler, more dynamic and more agile organization”, nevertheless provoked mixed reactions from analysts.
Sources said HSBC’s board would consider both existing non-executive directors and outsiders to succeed Mr Tucker.
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Under the former Pru chief, HSBC posted the highest annual profits in the bank’s history and sold a number of its international operations.
The largest of these was its Canadian subsidiary, which it sold last year to the Royal Bank of Canada for nearly $10 billion.
Mr Tucker also helped HSBC navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, when its staff in Hong Kong and China were forced into some of the toughest lockdowns in the world.
In 2022, Chinese insurer Ping An – and a major shareholder in the bank – asked HSBC’s board to break up the group, which Mr Tucker and his colleagues resisted.
Its boldest acquisition came early last year, when HSBC stepped in to save the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank in a deal coordinated by the Bank of England over the course of a week. -end.
London-listed HSBC shares closed at 732.7p on Friday, giving the bank a market capitalization of almost £131 billion.
The stock is up nearly a quarter in the past year.
HSBC has been contacted for comment.