HSBC appoints AIA boss as new chairman

By BBC

HSBC has appointed Mark Tucker, the current chief executive of Asian insurer AIA, as group chairman.

Mr Tucker will take over on 1 October, succeeding Douglas Flint who has been in the role since 2010.

During seven years as chief executive of AIA, Mr Tucker oversaw the insurer’s expansion in Asia.

One of his first jobs will be to find a replacement for Stuart Gulliver, the current chief executive of HSBC, who plans to step down next year.

AIA said that Ng Keng Hooi, would take over as chief executive from 1 September.

HSBC is Europe’s biggest bank, but the bulk of its profits are generated in Asia.

The bank has been through an overhaul in recent years in an attempt to reverse declining profits.

Over the last six years it has slashed more than 40,000 jobs and sold off businesses.

Despite those efforts, profits tumbled more than 60% last year.

The banking industry has been hampered by the extended period of very low interest rates, which makes lending money less profitable.

For HSBC that problem has been compounded by its move into less risky areas of banking since the financial crisis which started in 2007.

Those challenges make the appointment of a new chief executive even more crucial for investors, a search which will now be led by Mr Tucker.

Reputation revamp

HSBC has also been attempting to repair its image after a series of scandals.

Earlier this year it reached a $470m (£325m) settlement with the US government and states related to dubious mortgage lending and foreclosure practices during the financial crisis.

In 2015 Mr Gulliver and Mr Flint apologised for “unacceptable” practices at its Swiss private bank which helped clients to avoid tax.

In late 2012 HSBC paid US authorities $1.9bn in a settlement over money laundering.