Rumor has it that HSBC and Hang Seng have integrated 7 major functional departments and 6 are led by Hang Seng executives

The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to media reports, after completing the privatization of Hang Seng Bank at the beginning of the year, HSBC Holdings (00005) is gradually integrating its seven functional divisions of HSBC Hong Kong and Hang Seng Bank in order to streamline the Hong Kong structure. Under the new arrangement, the relevant functional departments of the two banks are fully responsible for one of them. According to the news, the vast majority of departments are headed by Hang Seng, that is, the head of the same department of HSBC needs to report to Hang Seng, changing the impression that Hang Seng needed to listen to HSBC in the past.

The integration involves 7 departments, including the Corporate Communications Department, Company Secretary and Corporate Governance Department, Risk Monitoring and Compliance Department, Information Technology Department, Internal Audit Department, Finance Department, and Director of Operations. According to reports, HSBC and Hang Seng have recently begun integrating departments supported by the central and back office, and have issued internal notices to the relevant departments of the two banks on the latest personnel appointments.

The report said that of the seven functional departments after the integration, all 6 departments have Hang Seng as the top manager under the new arrangement and is responsible for directly reporting the situation of the relevant departments of the two banks to the group's superiors, while the original head of the same department of HSBC is required to report to Hang Seng. Among them, the only function of the Director of Operations was led by HSBC because it coincided with the retirement of Hang Seng's Director of Operations, Zhao Huiwen. The news continued that although most of the new personnel appointments were made by Hang Seng, in fact, some of them were previously seconded to Hang Seng from HSBC.

An HSBC spokesperson said that the Group is committed to serving Hong Kong through its two banks. Privatizing Hang Seng Bank can enhance overall capabilities, drive growth, and better serve existing and new customers. The new director (team) appointed will explore opportunities to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two banks to serve customers more efficiently with the advantages of the two banks.