UK Edition
HSBC investment banking co-head leaving after less than two years
HSBC’s joint global banking boss Matthew Westerman is leaving the lender less than two years after joining from Goldman Sachs.
Mr Westerman was brought in to overhaul HSBC’s investment bank and swiftly made his mark by cutting some top financiers and revamping the division.
News of his departure, first reported by Bloomberg, comes just six weeks after Europe’s biggest lender named its new chief executive, promoting HSBC lifer and head of retail banking John Flint to succeed Stuart Gulliver.
Mr Westerman was seen in City circles as a candidate for the chief executive role. However a source familiar with the departure said he was never one of the top insiders considered for the job.
The source confirmed Mr Westerman’s abrasive management style had clashed with HSBC’s culture. He is understood to be leaving by the end of this month.
Mr Westerman was co-head of global banking with Robin Phillips, with both reporting to Samir Assaf, chief executive of HSBC global banking for the past seven years.
Mr Phillips will continue to run the unit after Mr Westerman’s departure.
In an internal memo Mr Assaf thanked Mr Westerman for the “significant contribution he has made to re-shaping Global Banking”.
HSBC’s global banking division generated $2.9bn of revenues over the first nine months of this year, up 4pc on the previous year.
Mr Westerman specialises in corporate finance and is a former chairman of Goldman Sachs’ European investment bank. He has also held senior roles at Rothschild and Credit Suisse First Boston.
HSBC has appointed successors for its two top leadership roles this year, with former boss of Asian insurer AIA Mark Tucker starting as chairman last month.
Mr Tucker was the first chairman to hail from outside HSBC’s ranks since it was founded 152 years ago.
Mr Flint's appointment as chief executive was more in keeping with tradition as he has spent his entire career at the bank since joining its international management training scheme in Hong Kong in 1989. He will take over from Mr Gulliver in February.
Mr Westerman could not be reached for comment.