LONDON/HONG KONG, April 20 (Reuters) - HSBC has
reshuffled the leadership of its investment banking division,
according to a memo seen by Reuters on Monday, as Chief
Executive Noel Quinn presses ahead with changes at the top
despite having last month paused a wider job cut programme.
The bank has cut the regional head roles of the Global
Banking & Markets (GBM) business which houses its investment
banking activities, the memo said. As a result, Asia-Pacific
head of GBM Gordon French will take a six-month sabbatical from
the bank, while the Americas head Andre Brandao will stay on
until the end of the year before a further announcement is made.
In Europe, head of GBM Thierry Roland will step down from
that role to focus on heading a unit tasked with disposing of
unwanted assets, as HSBC seeks to shrink its balance sheet.
A spokesman for the bank confirmed the contents of the memo.
(Reporting By Lawrence White in London and Sumeet Chatterjee in
Hong Kong)