HSBC Holdings will begin searching for its next chairman

HSBC Holdings, one of the UK’s biggest banks and Europe’s largest lender by market value, is preparing to begin the hunt for its next chairman.

Sky News has learned that HSBC’s board has appointed headhunters to help recruit a successor to Mark Tucker, who has held the post since 2017.

City sources said this weekend that search firm MWM Consulting was among the leaders orchestrating the process.

Mr Tucker, a former chief executive of Prudential and Hong Kong insurer AIA, is expected to step down around the time of HSBC’s annual meeting in spring 2026.

However, executives said Saturday that he could leave sooner, depending on the pace of the process.

Whoever succeeds Mr Tucker could find himself at the center of any new trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.

As a financial giant with deep ties to both China and the US, HSBC is deeply exposed to the risk of escalating trade and diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

The search for HSBC’s next chairman at board level is being coordinated by Anne Godbehere, the bank’s senior independent non-executive director.

The complex nature of the HSBC chairmanship – one of the most important jobs in British business and global banking – means starting preparations for the handover almost 18 months after the new chairman arrives makes sense, the sources said.

When he was appointed to the role in 2017, Mr Tucker became the first outsider to hold the post in the 152-year history of the bank, which has a strong presence on the high street thanks to the acquisition of Midland Bank in 1992.

He oversaw a rapid change of leadership, appointing bank veteran John Flint to replace Stuart Gulliver as chief executive.

However, the transition was not successful, with Mr Tucker deciding to sack Mr Flint after just 18 months.

He was temporarily replaced by Noel Quinn in the summer of 2018, a change that will become permanent in April 2020.

Mr Quinn stayed in the post for another four years before deciding to step down and was replaced in July by Georges Elkhedery, HSBC’s long-time head of markets and more recently the bank’s chief financial officer.

The new executive’s first big move at the top was the announcement of a major reorganization of HSBC that will see it restructured into eastern and western markets divisions.

He also decided to combine commercial and investment banking operations into a single division.

The restructuring, which Mr. Elkhedery said would “lead to a simpler, more dynamic and flexible organization,” nevertheless drew mixed reactions from analysts.

The HSBC board will consider appointing both existing non-executive directors and outsiders to succeed Mr Tucker, the sources said.

Under former boss Proulx, HSBC achieved its highest annual profit in the bank’s history and sold off a number of its international operations.

The biggest was its Canadian unit, which it sold to the Royal Bank of Canada last year for nearly $10 billion.

Mr Tucker also helped HSBC navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw its staff in Hong Kong and China forced to adhere to some of the world’s strictest restrictions.

In 2022, Chinese insurer Ping An – and a major shareholder of the bank – called on HSBC’s board to break up the group, which Mr Tucker and his colleagues resisted.

Its boldest acquisition came early last year, when HSBC stepped in to rescue Silicon Valley Bank’s UK unit in a deal coordinated by the Bank of England over the weekend.

London-listed HSBC shares closed at 732.7 pence on Friday, giving the bank a market capitalization of almost £131 billion.

The stock has risen by almost a quarter over the past year.

HSBC has been contacted for comment.