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HSBC has officially named Brendan Nelson as its new group chairman, confirming his permanent appointment after a period as interim head.
Mr Nelson, who joined the banking giant’s board in 2023 and has served as interim chairman since October, has extensive experience kpmg and board position with BP and Royal Bank of Scotland,
His appointment is in line with what the bank described as ‘a robust process that considers both internal and external candidates’. He replaces Sir Mark Tucker, who left at the end of September to take up an equivalent role at Hong Kong-based insurer AIA.
It was announced in May that Sir Mark would retire at the end of 2025, ending his eight-year tenure at the helm of the bank’s board.
His departure came after AIA confirmed his appointment as non-executive chairman on 1 October – a move that would have seen him return to the group he led as chief executive for seven years until 2017.
George Osborne, former Chancellor of the Conservative Party was told earlier To join the race to become the chairman of HSBC.
Ann Godbehere, senior independent director of HSBC, said: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted by the appointment of Brendan as our Group Chairman.
“Since assuming the role of Interim Group Chairman, Brendan has demonstrated his excellent leadership abilities based on his strong banking and administrative credentials.”
HSBC said Mr Nelson will remain chairman of the group audit committee until the publication of the 2025 results in February 2026.
The company is undergoing a major overhaul as it looks to cut costs by US$1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) by the end of next year.
HSBC has also faced increasing pressure from one of its largest shareholders. Sugar Insurer Ping An in recent years split the bank into two and created a separate Asia-headquartered business.
Plans to break up the bank were rejected by shareholders last year, but the restructuring announcement initially led to some speculation that it might eventually break up.