HSBC Holdings Plc, founded by a Scot more than 150 years ago, has appointed Pam Kaur as the first female chief financial officer (CFO) in its history.
At 60 years old, Kaur brings with her a vast experience of almost four decades in the banking sector, with a focus on auditing, risks and compliance, having worked for several global banks. She joined HSBC in April 2013 as head of internal audit, shortly after the bank admitted money laundering and sanctions violations, resulting in a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice.
Educated at the University of Punjab in India, Kaur takes on her new role at a challenging time, marked by falling interest rates and geopolitical tensions in key markets such as China and Hong Kong. On Tuesday, HSBC revealed a broad restructuring across multiple business lines and geographies as newly appointed CEO Georges Elhedery implements ambitious cost-cutting measures.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence, HSBC will need to save about $2 billion to maintain a crucial measure of its profits.
“We had a strong list of internal and external candidates, and Pam was the exceptional candidate we recommended to the board,” Elhedery, who was promoted from CFO to CEO, said in a statement.
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With the promotion, Kaur becomes one of the most influential women in the banking sector in Europe. She was seen as a top contender for the role, ahead of others such as Greg Guyett, head of global banking and markets, Willard McLane, head of strategy and corporate development, and Kavita Mahtani, CFO of HSBC’s European and Western markets. , according to Bloomberg.
Prior to joining HSBC, Kaur also served in compliance and audit roles at Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG. She has been on the HSBC group executive committee for over a decade and was appointed head of market and credit risks in 2019.
His remuneration as CFO will include an annual base salary of £803,000 ($1.04 million), a fixed allowance of £1.085 million and a pension allowance of £80,300.
Kaur will be eligible for a variable bonus, consisting of an annual incentive award of up to 215% of base salary, plus a long-term incentive award of up to 320% of base salary.
“We are happy to see more and more women in leadership positions in the market, especially in multinational financial institutions,” said Melissa Fung, partner at Deloitte LLP. “This is also in line with the board diversity policy suggested by the HKEX Corporate Governance Code.”
