Andrew Brown has resigned from his position as global head of FX at HSBC. His departure follows three record years in HSBC’s FX business; the timing of his resignation seems unfortunate, coming in the same week that the bank unveiled plans for a huge £12.5 billion rights issue.
Well-placed sources say that Brown, who in a previous career served in the British Parachute Regiment, intends to spend the rest of 2009 with his family, improving his golf handicap and training for a triathlon. HSBC has confirmed his departure. An internal memo says that Brown’s role will now be part of the responsibilities of Frederic Boillereau, who has been named as global head of foreign exchange and metals. This is a new position that finally brings together the banks FX spot, forward and options businesses, as well as its metals activities into a single global product offering.
The memo states: “This will enable us to provide a seamless and integrated global product capability to our clients, building on our platform to firmly establish HSBC as a top three player in global FX, as well as benefit from increased synergies within global markets.” HSBC came seventh in the 2008 Euromoney FX poll with a market share of 4.1%.