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LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - HSBC has begun thesearch for a successor to its Chairman Douglas Flint and willaim to nominate a candidate in 2017, Europe's biggest bank saidon Friday.
Replacing Flint, 60, would then allow the bank to begin thesearch for a successor to Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver, thebank said, without giving a precise timeline for that move.
Investors turned the spotlight on succession plans forHSBC's top two posts after the bank earlier this year put torest a 10-month long debate over where it should be based.
"The Board aims to nominate my successor during 2017 but theexact timing is clearly dependent upon identifying and securingthe appropriate candidate," Flint said in a letter toshareholders on Friday.
HSBC has previously said that, in a break from tradition,its next chairman will be an external candidate, possibly anon-executive director already on the lender's board. (Reporting By Lawrence White; Editing by Susan Fenton)
