The new boss of HSBC is reportedly readying to cut the jobs of some of the bank’s most expensive senior bankers in a move that could save as much as $300m (£229m) in costs.
Georges Elhedery, who took over as chief executive last month, is planning to remove a layer of senior bankers as part of a restructure that would result in the bank’s global banking and commercial banking units merging.
Staff at Europe’s largest bank have not yet been told about the changes but the plans are advanced and an announcement is expected later this month, the Financial Times reported.
According to its latest accounts, the average employee at the bank – which has more than 300 UK high street branches – earns £63,000 a year, when including pay and benefits, with those in the upper quartile of pay receiving £121,000 a year on average.
However, some of the lender’s senior employees are able to earn far greater sums. An analysis of EU pay transparency data by efinancial careers found that HSBC had more than 512 regulated employees in its investment banking arm earning more than $1m, with 41 of these earning more than $3m.
The move by Elhedery, who was promoted to the top job after being HSBC’s chief financial officer, is aimed at removing duplication in the top ranks of the business, which employs 221,000 people.
He took charge after the departure of Noel Quinn, who led the bank for five “intense” years before seeking “a better balance between my personal and business life”.
The $300m in savings would be a fraction of the $32bn in costs, including $17bn on wages and salaries, the bank reported last year.
HSBC is looking to adapt its business after benefiting from high interest rates in recent years.
HSBC’s net interest income, which is the difference between what is earned from loans versus what is paid out to savers, grew 20% to $36bn in 2023, aided by higher interest rates.
However, with base rates being cut, analysts are now expecting the figure to fall back to $33bn in the current financial year.
Earlier this year, HSBC reported an 80% fall in profits for the final three months of 2023 because of a writedown in the value of its stake in the Bank of Communications in China. However, it did recently announce a planned hiring spree in its wealth and private banking arm as it looked to take a bigger stake in the wealth management market.
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A source familiar with the plans, told the FT: “[The merger] will reduce the top management layers.
“It’s going to affect the senior people and some of the larger roles. That’s the most expensive layer and that’s where the costs are.”
An option reportedly being considered is to put Surendra Rosha, a co-chief executive of the bank’s Asia Pacific business, in charge of commercial and global banking.
The Guardian has contacted HSBC for comment.