HSBC’s head of global banking for Asia-Pacific is exiting lender

HSBC Holdings’s head of global banking for Asia-Pacific, Christina Ma, is leaving the bank, according to people familiar with matter, as the lender restructures its business to keep a lid on costs.

Ma is departing just 2½ years after she was hired from Goldman Sachs Group, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. Ma declined to comment when reached by phone. A spokesman for HSBC declined to comment.

HSBC last year announced it was combining its commercial banking and global banking businesses – as part of a major overhaul under new chief executive officer Georges Elhedery. It asked hundreds of managers to reapply for jobs in the firm’s newly formed corporate and institutional banking division, Bloomberg reported in November.

The lender last week announced it will wind down some of its investment banking operations in Europe, the UK and the Americas. HSBC is examining plans that could cut costs by at least US$3 billion as it continues to restructure its worldwide operations.

Ma previously spent 21 years at Goldman Sachs, where she held a number of leadership roles including head of Greater China equities. BLOOMBERG