Unicredit’s Mustier rules himself out of running for HSBC role
Unicredit chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier has ruled himself out of the running to be the next boss of HSBC, as the hunt to find a leader for Europe’s largest lender enters its seventh month.
Italy’s biggest bank said this morning that Mustier had confirmed he would remain in role, following reports last night that he had ruled himself out of the top job at rival HSBC.
Mustier had been identified last week as the preferred external candidate for the role, establishing him as the main contender to interim chief executive Noel Quinn, who has led HSBC since August.
Mustier phoned HSBC chairman Mark Tucker on Sunday to say he was no longer interested in the role and would remain at Unicredit, the Financial Times reported.
HSBC has been searching for a new permanent chief executive since the abrupt departure of John Flint in August. Quinn, who had led HSBC’s commercial bank, was immediately appointed as his interim replacement.
At the time, Tucker said the bank would name a permanent successor within six months to a year.
Last week, Quinn unveiled HSBC’s most radical strategy overhaul in years alongside the bank’s annual results.
Under the plans, the lender will cut 35,000 jobs over the next three years and will shed $100bn of assets, as well as overhauling its corporate structure.
HSBC came under criticism from some shareholders and analysts last week for announcing a major restructuring programme without clarity on who would lead the bank through the process.
Goodbody analysts said this morning that “interim chief executive Noel Quinn was the architect of a strong strategy recalibration… and it is very difficult to see an outsider come in to inherit this very detailed strategy”.
A spokesperson for HSBC said the recruitment process “remains ongoing”.
“We said it would take six to 12 months and we continue to work towards that timescale,” they added.