HSBC begins search for new group CFO after Pam Kaur signals 2027 departure

HSBC Holdings plc said on Thursday that Group Chief Financial Officer Pam Kaur had informed the board of her plan to leave the role in 2027 and would not stand for re-election as a director at the bank's 2027 annual general meeting. The London-based lender said Kaur's official retirement date as Group CFO would be confirmed in due course but would fall no later than the 2027 AGM, which the bank typically holds in May. Kaur, 62, became Group CFO in January 2025 and has been with HSBC for 13 years, and will have spent just over two years as Group CFO when she steps down. HSBC said the board had commenced a process to identify her successor and would consider both internal and external candidates.

The departure follows a period of sustained structural change at Europe's largest bank under Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery, who has pushed through a restructuring of HSBC's operating model over the past two years and has seen a succession of senior executives leave. Kaur was appointed the first woman to hold the finance chief role at Britain's largest bank and worked alongside Elhedery on the reorganisation of the group's divisional structure and cost programme. HSBC said her move to an advisory role would ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities to her successor. The announcement was filed as a regulatory disclosure to the market and furnished to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K.

TRANSITION AND ADVISORY ARRANGEMENT

Rather than exiting the group outright, Kaur will move into an advisory capacity once she leaves the executive role. HSBC said she would support the Group CEO on ongoing strategic projects and ensure an orderly handover to her successor, and that she is expected to remain employed as an adviser through the end of 2028. The bank said Kaur is expected to stay in the Group CFO and executive director roles until the 2027 AGM, or earlier if a successor starts in the role before then, and would be available to support the transition throughout.

HSBC set out the financial terms of the exit alongside the announcement. Kaur will continue to receive her salary, a cash allowance in lieu of pension, and benefits through her notice period, which ends on 9 September 2027. She will be eligible for annual incentive awards for the 2026 and 2027 performance years, judged against relevant performance measures and her contribution, with the 2027 award prorated to the date she steps down from the board. Kaur has been granted good leaver status, so her deferred awards will continue to vest and be released on their scheduled dates, while any vesting of her long-term incentive awards will be pro-rated to the end of her employment, subject to the relevant plan terms.

SUCCESSION AND MARKET IMPLICATIONS

In a statement issued on Thursday, Kaur said that with the bank in a strong place financially and strategically, 2027 felt the right time in her career to embrace new leadership opportunities and apply her experience in a different context.

HSBC said Kaur's precise retirement date would be confirmed in due course. She will remain on the board until the 2027 AGM.