HSBC names Anita Fung head of global banking and markets

HSBC has promoted Anita Fung to head of global banking and markets for Asia-Pacific with additional responsibility for global asset management across the region, introducing the same kind of overseeing function here in Asia as it has on a global basis.

Fung was previously head of global markets in the region, which includes sales and trading, balance sheet management and debt capital markets. The addition of global banking to her title means that she will now also be responsible for advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and equity capital markets activity -- plus the asset management business. In all, she will have responsibility for 7,000 global banking and markets employees in 21 countries and territories.

This means she will have the same role in Asia-Pacific as London-based Stuart Gulliver has on a global basis.

A HSBC spokeswoman says it makes sense to have someone overseeing these three businesses as there are overlapping functions between them. For one, global banking and global markets both target corporate and institutional clients, meaning there are opportunities for cross-selling of products. The two divisions also share certain functions like leverage finance and project finance.

Frank Slevin, who is head of global banking for Asia-Pacific, and Rudolf Apenbrink, CEO of HSBC Global Asset Management, Asia-Pacific, will both report to Fung in addition to their functional reporting lines at the London headquarters.

And so will Gordon French, who is succeeding Fung as head of global markets in the region. French was previously a managing director of sales and regional treasury management for Asia-Pacific, which is part of the global markets division.

Fung, who is assuming her new job immediately, will report locally to Peter Wong, who is CEO of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp -- HSBC's Hong Kong-based unit. She will also answer to: Robin Philips, the global head of the global banking division; Samir Assaf, the global head of the global markets division; and Jon Flint, global head of the asset management division. Philips, Assaf and Flint are all based in London.

Fung has been with HSBC since 1996 when she joined from Standard Chartered Bank. Her first job with the bank was as head of domestic markets within the treasury and capital markets division. Since then she has held a number of different roles, but has been based in Hong Kong throughout. She became treasurer and head of global markets in 2005 and in 2008 was appointed a group general manager.

She is a senior figure in the regional markets with extensive relationships among investors, issuers, market professionals and regulators. According to the HSBC announcement, she has helped guide the evolution of the financial landscape, both in Hong Kong and other regional markets.

In a written comment about her promotion, Wong noted that Fung has strengthened HSBC's Asian franchise by "successfully integrating global products on to the regional platform, enabling [the bank] to build market share, deliver more solutions to [its] clients and enhance [its] leadership position in Asia".

Founded in Hong Kong in 1865 under the name of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to finance the growing trade between Europe, India and China, HSBC has remained a strong force in the Asian banking sector even though its headquarters are located in London. However, recently it has started to put even more focus on Asia-Pacific and in September last year it announced that group CEO Michael Geoghegan would be relocating to Hong Kong in February to position the group for the shift in the world's centre of economic gravity from west to east.

In announcing Fung's promotion, the bank stressed that Asia-Pacific is "a key focus of [its] emerging markets-led and financing-focused strategy and an important driver of growth for global banking and markets".