(11 January 2016 – United Kingdom) HSBC has announced that Nigel Hinshelwood will assume the role of deputy chief executive officer of its UK and European unit, overseeing the separation of the British consumer and investment banking operations, known as ring-fencing.
Hinshelwood will also be head of the UK region and act as deputy for Antonio Simoes, CEO of HSBC Bank, according to an internal memo from Simoes and group chief operating officer Andy Maguire.
He will start on 22 February, subject to regulatory approval.
The UK’s largest banks are making plans to meet the ring-fence rules, which be effective from 2019. The Bank of England requires lenders with more than £25 billion (A$52.3 billion) of deposits to create barriers between retail and commercial operations and investment banking. The regulation seeks to ensure core services, such as those handling deposits and payments, are protected if trading operations incur losses and have to be shut down.
“Successful delivery of the ring-fenced bank is one of the 10 strategic actions that we undertook to investors” in HSBC’s June strategy update, Simoes said in the memo. “Nigel’s role is therefore to deliver one of the group’s highest priorities.”
HSBC’s ring-fenced bank will be known as “HSBC UK” and the lender is moving the head office of the operation to Birmingham, relocating 1,000 people from London.
Hinshelwood will be responsible for retail banking and wealth management, commercial banking and private banking, as well as global functions and operations for the HSBC UK business, according to the memo.