HSBC has reportedly hired Citigroup’s Willard McLane as its new Head of Global Corporate Development.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg, McLane will help develop HSBC’s strategic initiatives, including searching for acquisition opportunities and technology partnerships. He is slated to begin his new role late this summer and report directly to CFO Ewen Stevenson.
McLane has been with Citigroup for the last nine years and most recently has served as the Vice Chairman of Citigroup’s Global Financial Institutions Group as well as its Asia Technology Group. Prior to joining Citi, he spent 11 years at Morgan Stanely, where he departed as the bank’s Head of Financial Institutions. He also spent time as a Managing Director at IRG in Hong Kong as well as earlier stints at Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers.
McLane’s appointment follows news that HSBC is realigning its business and investing heavily in international banking and wealth management. Just last week, the British bank announced that it will sell the bulk of its US retail banking operations to Cathay Bank and Citizens Bank. Should the deal be approved, HSBC would slim its US footprint from 148 branches to about 25.
HSBC has reportedly been eyeing a greater presence in Asia’s growing wealth management market and recently begun to informally look for a successor to Peter Wong, the bank’s top executive in the Asia Pacific region.
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