HSBC Holdings Plc is overhauling its trading division as part of Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery’s drive to transform the bank into a debt financing powerhouse. According to a memo seen by Bloomberg News, the lender will combine its Group-of-10 rates trading unit with foreign exchange, emerging markets rates, and commodities desks to form a new global macro division. Meanwhile, derivatives clearing services will be integrated into the global equities team, the memo added.
All remaining global debt market businesses—including high-yield, investment-grade, and emerging market credit trading—will operate under a newly established global credit and financing division. This team is set to work closely with HSBC’s investment bankers and underwriters to bolster client connectivity and operational efficiency, as well as to support the bank’s financing and transaction banking ambitions, the memo and a company statement confirmed.
The restructuring follows months of sweeping changes orchestrated by Elhedery, who has shuttered much of HSBC’s advisory and equity underwriting operations across the US, UK, and continental Europe. The CEO is concentrating resources on debt capital markets in regions where HSBC believes it can compete with Wall Street’s largest players. Bloomberg reports that the new global macro division will be led by Volkan Benihasim, while Franck Lacour will continue to lead equities.
For the global credit and financing unit, HSBC plans a short internal search for a permanent head, with Antoine Maurel and Monish Tahilramani temporarily overseeing the division across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. Mehmet Mazi, HSBC’s head of global debt markets since 2020, will explore other opportunities as part of the shake-up, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Patrick George, HSBC’s global head of markets and securities services, emphasized in the staff memo that the changes reflect the bank’s ambition to become a “financing powerhouse,” adding that technology investments will be aligned with this goal. Bloomberg notes that the move positions HSBC to leverage its balance sheet more aggressively and expand its footprint in global trading and debt markets.
