HSBC Holdings, a 160-year-old global banking giant, has made history by appointing Pam Kaur as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Kaur, 60, is the first woman to hold this role at the bank, which is a significant milestone for the institution. She was officially named to the position on October 22, 2024.
HSBC Holdings plc (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business links to East Asia and a multinational footprint. It is the largest Europe-based bank by total assets, ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.919 trillion as of December 2023.
Kaur will be taking over from Georges Elhedery, who stepped down as CFO earlier this year after becoming the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank. In a statement, Elhedery expressed his confidence in Kaur, saying, “We had a strong group of internal and external candidates to choose from, and Pam was the exceptional candidate to recommend to the Board.”
Pam Kaur has been with HSBC since 2013, serving in various high-profile roles, including Chief Risk and Compliance Officer. She joined the bank as the Group Head of Internal Audit and has held key responsibilities over the years. In 2019, she was appointed Head of Wholesale Market and Credit Risk and later became the Group Chief Risk Officer in 2020. By 2021, she had also taken on compliance responsibilities. Her expertise in managing risk and compliance across different regions made her a strong contender for the CFO role.
Kaur brings a wealth of experience to her new position. She started her career at Citibank in internal audit and later worked at global institutions like Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds TSB. She has also served on the boards of companies such as Centrica plc and Abrdn plc.
Pam Kaur holds an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Punjab University, India. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Major Structural Changes at HSBC
Along with Kaur’s appointment, HSBC has announced significant changes to its business structure, set to take effect from January 1, 2025. The bank will reorganize into four main divisions: the Hong Kong unit, the UK unit, the corporate and institutional banking unit, and the international wealth and premier banking unit. This restructuring is aimed at simplifying the organization and making it more agile as it focuses on key markets.
The bank’s global operations in commercial banking, excluding the UK and Hong Kong, will be merged with its global banking and markets business. This new corporate and institutional banking division will manage wholesale banking activities in the Western markets, including the UK, Europe, and the Americas.
HSBC has been reducing its operations in Western markets such as Canada, France, and the United States to concentrate more on Asia, where it sees greater growth opportunities. The bank currently employs around 2,14,000 people and has been cutting duplicate roles as part of its cost-reduction strategy.
HSBC’s CEO Georges Elhedery commented on the restructuring, saying, “The new structure will result in a simpler, more dynamic, and agile organization as we focus on executing against our strategic priorities, which remain unchanged.”
Pam Kaur’s appointment and the bank’s restructuring signal a new chapter for HSBC as it aims to streamline its operations and strengthen its presence in key markets around the world.
It’s apperception Pam kaur is CFO HSBC bank being Sikh person Waheguru ji bless her.