Nuno Matos, HSBC’s head of global wealth and personal banking — and the man largely seen as incoming CEO Georges Elhedery’s closest rival for the bank’s top post — is leaving, HSBC announced Thursday.
The bank’s chief operating officer, John Hinshaw, and human-resources chief, Elaine Arden, are also leaving the bank, HSBC said Thursday. The changes come days before Elhedery is set to become CEO of Britain’s largest bank Monday.
The changes, set to take effect Oct. 1, aim to position HSBC “for the next phase of development and growth,” the bank said.
Matos joined HSBC from Santander, holding several leadership roles over nearly a decade. He served as HSBC’s global head of small-business banking in 2015, then became the bank’s head of consumer banking and wealth management in Latin America. Matos then served as CEO of the bank’s Mexican and European operations before leading HSBC’s wealth and personal banking effort, according to Matos’ LinkedIn profile.
Barry O’Byrne, the bank’s head of global commercial banking — and also once considered a CEO contender — will take up Matos’ role.
Matos will support O’Byrne as an adviser throughout 2024 and will leave HSBC in 2025 after a period of garden leave, the bank said. O’Byrne will continue to be based out of Hong Kong. HSBC will give an update “in due course” on plans to name a successor in commercial banking, the bank said.
HSBC is pivoting toward its wealth management business, which saw a bump in customer activity in the first quarter. HSBC plans to double its U.K. wealth assets under management to $131 billion within five years, targeting the “mass affluent” market — aligning with industry trends and HSBC's goal to boost fee-based income, Reuters reported last week.
Hinshaw, meanwhile, is leaving after nearly five years at HSBC, and has been crucial in shifting the bank’s headquarters from Canary Wharf to a smaller space in London’s central financial district starting in late 2026. He’s also been instrumental in improving HSBC’s third-party supplier relationship, the bank said.
After a review, Elhedery split the responsibilities of the chief operating officer between two new group executive committee-level roles: an expanded chief information officer role and a revamped COO post.
Stuart Riley will assume the expanded CIO role, which will include overseeing the bank’s data and innovation unit. Riley, who was a co-CIO at Citi before leaving last September, joined HSBC in February and has “made a strong and positive impact,” the bank said.
Suzy White, a 25-year veteran at the bank and global banking and markets chief operating officer, will take up the new COO role on an interim basis while HSBC searches for a permanent candidate for the position.
Elhedery is looking to streamline the bank's management structure in ways that could involve significant reductions in middle management positions — a strategy implemented by Citi and Standard Chartered, Bloomberg reported this week. The proposed changes might include decreasing the number of country heads across HSBC's global operations, sources close to the matter told the wire service.
“I suspect that Georges will want HSBC to look like a swan over the next five years — stability at the top, but lots of activity under the water,” Ben Toms, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, told Reuters on Thursday. “Unfortunately stability at the top probably means lack of short-term opportunity for the ambitious, high quality management, who are one rung down. This morning's news is probably a reflection of this construct.”
Following Elhedery’s appointment, HSBC explored financial incentives and reallocated key projects to retain the senior leadership who had not been chosen for the CEO role, Reuters reported last month.
HSBC is getting new leadership in human resources, too. Aileen Taylor, HSBC’s chief governance officer, will become add human resources to her title, the bank said Thursday. Taylor, a lawyer and 19-year vet of Royal Bank of Scotland (now NatWest), succeeds Arden, who is leaving HSBC after seven years in her role.
“I am really looking forward to working with Barry, Aileen, Stuart and Suzy, as we pursue the next phase of our growth,” Elhedery said in a statement. “It has been a pleasure working with Nuno, Elaine and John. I wish them every success in the future.”
