(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc has hired Will McLane, vice chairman of Citigroup Inc.'s global financial institutions group, as head of global corporate development, people with knowledge of the matter said.
McLane is slated to start at HSBC in late summer, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. He is expected to help the London-based bank develop strategic initiatives, look for acquisition opportunities and form technology partnerships, one of the people said.
McLane will report to HSBC Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson, who in February was given responsibility for the bank's transformation agenda and mergers and acquisitions strategy, according to the person. HSBC has said it's open to doing deals, though the bank has downplayed the idea it could complete a major corporate takeover, instead pointing to potential bolt-on purchases.
Shares of HSBC have risen 18% in London trading this year, giving the bank a market value of about 91 billion pounds ($129 billion). Representatives for HSBC and Citigroup declined to comment.
McLane joined Citigroup in 2012 and became vice chairman of its global financial institutions group in 2018. He was also made vice chairman of the bank's Asia technology group last year.
His appointment comes as HSBC, Europe's largest lender, pivots to Asia and pushes to become a market leader in managing wealth in an increasingly affluent part of the world. HSBC has earmarked investments of about $6 billion for the region, on top of billions more in risk-weighted assets it intends to shift from operations in Europe and the U.S.
HSBC is moving its global heads of investment banking, commercial banking and wealth to Hong Kong this year. The bank has also started an informal search to identify a successor for Peter Wong, its longtime chief executive for Asia Pacific, people familiar with the matter said in January. As a member of China's top political-advisory body, Wong's ties have been pivotal to mending relations with Beijing that were frayed by the lender's role in a U.S. probe of Huawei Technologies Co.
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