LONDON/SYDNEY :HSBC’s deputy global head of equities Selene Chong is taking a leave of absence from her role, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, the latest change in senior leadership at the Asia-focused lender.
Chong, who is also head of equities for HSBC in the Asia Pacific region and is based in Hong Kong, has worked for the bank for more than two decades, according to a profile on the professional social media platform LinkedIn.
Chong’s sabbatical is not related to the group’s broader restructuring, a third source said. The sources could not be named as they were discussing information that is not yet public.
Kenneth Hon will head the bank’s APAC equities team in Chong’s absence, according to the sources. He is taking on the role in addition to his existing job as head of HSBC’s prime financing unit for Asia.
A spokesperson for HSBC confirmed the changes in an emailed statement to Reuters. Chong did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The leadership change comes just a week after the bank said it was shuttering its equities capital markets and M&A advisory teams in Europe, Britain and the Americas to streamline its business and save costs.
Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery has stepped up an overhaul of the bank’s senior management ranks globally, slashing duplicate roles to boost returns and tighten its focus on Asia, where HSBC earns the bulk of its profit.
Several high-profile managers have exited the bank in recent months since HSBC said last October it wanted to merge some operations and split its geographic footprint into East and West in order to compete more effectively with global rivals.
The bank’s London-listed shares, which have gained 37 per cent in the last 12 months, were trading 0.5 per cent higher at 1027 GMT.
The bank is expected to share more details on the savings it hopes to make following the changes when it releases financial results later this month.
(Reporting By Sinead Cruise in London and Scott Murdoch in Sydney, additional reporting by Lawrence White in London; Editing by Susan Fenton and Bernadette Baum)
