(16 April 2010 – Australia) HSBC has announced the appointment of Bridget Powell as general counsel in Australia.Ms Powell was previously deputy general counsel for HSBC in Australia from 2007 to 2010.
In her new role Ms Powell is responsible for Legal, Compliance, the Company Secretariat and is a member of HSBC’s executive committee.
Commenting on the appointment, Paulo Maia, chief executive officer for HSBC in Australia, said that Ms Powell has been with HSBC for ten years and brings a tremendous amount of legal and compliance experience to her new role.
As one of the world’s largest banks, HSBC has to navigate a range of different regulatory and economic regimes across the globe, and the bank’s businesses are regulated and supervised by approximately 540 central banks and regulatory authorities, Mr Maia added.
Mr Maia said that as general counsel in Australia, Ms Powell forms part of HSBC’s global legal and compliance network, and the breadth and depth of her experience makes her uniquely suited to tackling this complex role.
Ms Powell has previously held a number of senior positions within HSBC Bank Australia, including head of compliance from 2006 to 2007, senior compliance manager from 2003 to 2006 and senior legal adviser from 2001 to 2003.
Prior to joining HSBC, Powell held senior legal and compliance positions with NRMA Building Society, AMP Bank Limited and Household Financial Services Limited.