HSBC shakes up under-pressure global banking business

LONDON (Reuters): HSBC has reshuffled its global banking division as former JP Morgan banker Greg Guyett put his stamp on the business, which has been under pressure in recent years.

Under Guyett, who took on responsibility for the business in February, HSBC has appointed Patrick Nolan, vice chairman of global banking, to global head of corporate banking, following a turbulent period for HSBC’s investment banking business.

The division, which advises clients on finance and mergers, has lost senior dealmakers and slipped down the rankings in merger advisory and equity capital markets amid internal questions over its strategic direction.

Hugo Heath moves to the vice chairman role, while Peter Enns and Matthew Wallace become global co-heads of corporate finance coverage, overseeing HSBC’s teams of sector coverage bankers, an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed.

A spokesman for HSBC confirmed the contents of the memo, which also showed that among the 16 appointments mentioned in Friday’s reshuffle, only one went to a woman, Katia Bouazza, who became head of global banking for Latin America. HSBC has faced criticism from insiders for the male-dominated nature of its investment bank, and the lender has the worst gender pay gap among major British firms at 61%.

The bank said it is working to address this by including gender-balanced shortlists and promoting more women. Robin Phillips, a former co-head of the division along with Guyett, left in February.