HSBC's first female CFO Pam Kaur to step down in 2027

By Selena Li, Roshan Thomas and Lawrence White

HONG KONG/LONDON Sept 10 (Reuters) - HSBC Chief Financial Officer Pam Kaur plans to step down in 2027, the bank said on Thursday, the latest high-profile executive departure at the Asia-focused lender which under CEO Georges Elhedery has undergone a radical restructuring in the last two years.

Kaur will not stand for re-election as a director at the lender's 2027 annual general meeting, the bank said on Thursday.

HSBC said its board has started to look for a successor, and will consider "both internal and external candidates".

Kaur's planned exit puts the bank's top-level leadership stability and succession planning back under scrutiny, after HSBC in December unexpectedly named interim chair Brendan Nelson to the permanent role after a drawn-out, seven-month search.

Since her appointment in October 2024, Kaur had been widely regarded as the top aide to Elhedery as he led the global overhaul which split the bank into East and West regional divisions, driven by market exits and deep cost cuts to streamline operations.

"Pam Kaur's exit is a bit of a surprise but she has done a good job since being appointed in supporting Elhedery's restructuring and selling off superfluous parts of the bank, the results of which can be seen in the share price," said Edward Firth, analyst at KBW in London.

HSBC's shares have risen 125% in that time, along with similar gains by big British banks which have benefited from favourable interest rates, and resilient credit quality despite global economic uncertainty.

Kaur's official retirement date as Group CFO will be confirmed in due course but would be no later than the company's 2027 AGM, which is usually in May, according to the bank.

Pam Kaur was the bank's first female finance chief in its over 160-year history.

FURTHER HIGH PROFILE DEPARTURES

After stepping down from the full-time role of Group CFO and executive director, Kaur will take on an advisory role to support Group CEO Georges Elhedery on ongoing strategic projects, the bank said.

Last month, HSBC's global chief ​executive for the insurance business Edward Moncreiffe left the bank after two decades at the banking group.

Recent high-profile exits include former head of banking for Europe and the Americas Gerry Keefe, who resigned in April, and its cash equities trading heads, James Grafton and Steve ​Jobber, who left in February.

The ​bank's former U.S. banking chief ⁠Lisa McGeough departed last September.

(Reporting by Lawrence White in London, Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala,Louise Heavens and Chizu Nomiyama)