HSBC Names John Flint as Chief Executive

HSBC Holdings PLC said Thursday it has appointed John Flint, its head of retail banking and wealth management, as its new chief executive, replacing Stuart Gulliver, who had said he would leave next year.

Mr. Flint will join the board on Feb. 21, 2018, after Mr. Gulliver steps down after nearly eight years in the role.

Mr. Flint joined HSBC in October 1989, and spent the first 14 years in Asia helping to establish and expand the HSBC global markets business in the region before moving back to Europe in 2004. Mr. Flint was appointed a group managing director in January 2013 and is currently the chief executive of retail banking and wealth management.

Mr. Gulliver said in March that he wanted to retire from the bank in 2018. He has been at HSBC since 1980 and became CEO at the start of 2011.

Mr. Gulliver, together with former Chairman Douglas Flint, helped HSBC reshape itself and adapt to the tougher regulation and lower profitability for banks after the financial crisis.

Their five-year strategy plan in 2011 saw the bank rein in its sprawling global operations by closing dozens of businesses and exiting much of Latin America. They also dismantled an outdated structure that gave country managers almost unfettered control, and installed global business heads.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2017 06:32 ET (10:32 GMT)