HSBC ditches finance chief as calls for windfall tax grow

HSBC today kicked off bank reporting season with a boom in profits that is likely to add to calls for a windfall tax on the sector – and revealed the surprise departure of number two executive Ewen Stevenson.

A surge in interest rates around the world saw the global bank’s third quarter profits jump by $1 billion to $6.5 billion, even higher than the City’s optimistic expectations.

While most of those profits were made outside of the UK, the political pressure to impose fresh taxes on HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and the rest is likely only to grow.

Stevenson is to be replaced by Georges Elhedery as chief financial officer, with the clear suggestion being that he could succeed CEO Noel Quinn before long.

The former Royal Bank of Scotland executive, credited with helping to turn around the once bust state owned lender, was regarded in the City as a strong CFO and his departure raises questions about executive stability.

Quinn insisted he is “here for many years to come”, but chairman Mark Tucker is regarded as a tough operator who may decide otherwise.

Tucker said Stevenson, paid £3.5 million a year, “leaves with our very best wishes”, in a fairly brutal statement.

With new PM Rishi Sunak looking to plug a £40 billion hole in the public finances, banks could prove an easy target. While he promised last year to cut the so-called banking surcharge from 8% to 3% while he was chancellor, his latest successor Jeremy Hunt has not committed to keep to that.

HSBC is under fire for so-called “greenwashing” – claiming to be more environmentally friendly in adverts than it really is.

Today the Financial Conduct Authority today proposed new rules to “clampdown” on how terms like “green” or “sustainable” are used by City firms. In a clear swipe at HSBC, Sacha Sadan, the FCA’s Director of Environment Social and Governance, said: “Greenwashing misleads consumers and erodes trust in all ESG products. Consumers must be confident when products claim to be sustainable that they actually are.”