HSBC has unexpectedly announced that its group chief executive Noel Quinn would retire after almost five years in the role and has started searching for a successor to lead Europe’s largest bank.
The bank said on Tuesday that it was considering both internal and external candidates for the role, and Quinn would remain in the role for up to a year until a replacement is found.
Quinn was appointed permanent CEO in March 2020, having stepped in as interim boss following John Flint’s surprise departure in August 2019.
His tenure has been marked by efforts to improve shareholder returns and cut costs by exiting non-core markets to focus on the bank’s core Asian markets and reducing headcount. HSBC’s shares have risen around 30 per cent since Quinn became CEO.
Quinn started his career at Midland Bank in 1987, which HSBC bought five years later. He led HSBC’s commercial banking arm for several years before the bank’s chair, Mark Tucker, who is now looking for his third CEO, picked him for the top job.
“After an intense five years, it is now the right time for me to get a better balance between my personal and business life,” Quinn commented. “I intend to pursue a portfolio career going forward.”
The news came alongside the Asia-focused lender’s first-quarter results, which included a $200m (£159m), or 1.8 per cent, year-on-year drop in pretax profit to $12.65bn (£10.1bn). HSBC has been squeezed by rising costs from its expansion in Asia, as well as inflationary pressures.
This figure surpassed a company-compiled analyst consensus estimate of $12.6bn (£10bn) and included a $4.8bn (£3.8bn) gain from the sale of HSBC’s Canadian business to RBC, which completed last month.
It also included a $1.1bn (£877m) impairment tied to the offloading of HSBC’s business in Argentina. Both sales came as part of efforts during Quinn’s tenure to reduce the bank’s global footprint and focus more on India, Singapore and China.
Quinn said on Tuesday that the recent sales would allow the bank “to focus on markets with higher-value international opportunities”.
HSBC announced a fresh $3bn (£2.4bn) share buyback, as well as an interim dividend of 10 cents (8p) per share. The bank also unveiled a 21 cent (17p) special dividend from the sale of the Canadian business.
Interest rate hikes around the world propelled HSBC’s profit to a record high in 2023, even despite a $3bn (£2.4bn) writedown on its stake in a Chinese bank at the end of the year. However, as central banks are expected to start lowering borrowing costs in the coming months, lenders are seeing narrower margins.
HSBC’s net interest income – the difference between what it earns from loans and pays out on deposits – fell by $300m (£239m) to $8.7bn (£6.9bn) in the first three months of 2024.
The bank is also dealing with geopolitical tensions and economic turmoil from its exposure to China. HSBC’s shares were trading flat in Hong Kong after its results were announced.
Benajmin Toms, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note: “Following strong performance in 2023, we think the bank’s earnings momentum is coming to an end and an improved capital distribution profile is now reflected in consensus.”