HSBC Holdings PLC, which was founded by a Scotsman more than 150 years ago, has named Pam Kaur the first female chief financial officer in its history.
The 60-year-old brings a long focus on auditing, risk and compliance in a banking career spanning nearly four decades spanning across various global lenders. She joined HSBC as head of internal audit in April 2013, shortly after the bank admitted to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice.
Ms Kaur, who was educated at Panjab University in India, takes up her new role at a challenging time as interest rates are falling and amid geopolitical tensions in key markets including China and Hong Kong. The bank unveiled a sweeping restructuring across various business sectors and geographies on Tuesday as newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedary embarks on ambitious cost cuts.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence, HSBC will have to find a way to cut $2 billion in costs to maintain a significant portion of the bank’s profits.
“We had a strong bench of internal and external candidates to choose from and Pam was an exceptional candidate to recommend to the board,” Elhaderi, who was promoted from CFO, said in a statement.
HSBC shares slipped 0.4% at 1:03 p.m. in London.
With the promotion, Ms Kaur becomes one of the most senior women in banking across Europe. He was seen as the leading contender for the role, with other candidates including Greg Guyette, head of global banking and markets, Willard McLane, group head of strategy and corporate development, and Kavita Mahtani, HSBC’s CFO of Europe and the West. Markets, Bloomberg previously reported.
Before joining HSBC, he also held compliance and audit roles at Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG. Ms Kaur has served on HSBC’s group executive committee for more than a decade and was named head of wholesale markets and credit risk in 2019.
His remuneration as CFO will include an annual base salary of 803,000 pounds ($1.04 million), a fixed salary allowance of 1,085,000 pounds and a pension allowance of 80,300 pounds.
He is eligible to be considered for discretionary variable pay which includes annual incentive award up to 215% of basic salary and long term incentive award up to 320% of basic salary.
“We are welcome to see more female leadership in the market, especially in multinational financial institutions,” said Melissa Fung, partner at Deloitte LLP. “This also resonates with the enhancement of board diversity policy under the corporate governance code suggested by HKEX.”
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