By Selena Li and Sumeet Chatterjee
HONG KONG, Aug 12 (Reuters) – HSBC’s global chief executive for insurance business, Edward Moncreiffe, is set to leave the bank after two decades with the lender, sources said, amid a broader global overhaul and recent asset sales in Asia.
Moncreiffe’s departure, which was first reported by Reuters, comes two years after he took over the role at the Asia-focussed lender in 2024.
He will leave soon for external opportunities, according to two people with direct knowledge of the move. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter has not yet been publicly disclosed.
A Hong Kong-based spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment. Moncreiffe, whose impending departure from HSBC has not been reported previously, did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
Moncreiffe’s departure would mark the latest in a string of senior executive exits at HSBC since group CEO Georges Elhedery launched a sweeping overhaul after taking the helm in 2024 to cut costs, trim smaller businesses and focus on wealth growth.
Recent high-profile exits include former head of banking for Europe and the Americas Gerry Keefe, who resigned in April and its cash equities trading heads James Grafton and Steve Jobber, who left in February.
The bank’s former U.S. banking chief Lisa McGeough departed last September.
HSBC plans to appoint two executives to succeed Moncreiffe, effectively splitting the role, one of the sources said. Moncreiffe will officially leave in September, according to the other source.
Before taking the global insurance role, Moncreiffe spent seven years as CEO of HSBC Life Hong Kong and Macau, overseeing the bank’s largest insurance markets.
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Since joining the group in 2005, he has held various senior leadership positions spanning life and pensions, distribution, and strategic partnerships across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
Moncreiffe’s departure comes as HSBC continues to navigate broader strategic restructuring across its wealth and personal banking operations, marked by a series of divestments.
The bank just last month agreed to sell its life and health insurance business in Singapore to Germany’s Allianz in a S$2.7 billion ($2.1 billion) deal. It then offloaded its A$36 billion ($25.3 billion) Australian home and personal loan portfolio to private equity firm Blackstone.
Insurance has been a key strategic pillar in the bank’s drive to expand fee-generating revenue and boost market share in wealth markets across Asia, particularly in Hong Kong, mainland China and Southeast Asia.
HSBC shares fell 4.2% last week on concerns that Beijing’s move to tax offshore insurance returns will hit demand in Hong Kong, the bank’s biggest market and a primary hub for mainland buyers.
Income from the bank’s insurance business grew 20% in the first half of this year from a year ago, exceeding an 18% overall wealth revenue increase.
(Reporting by Selena Li and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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