HSBC's record profits are burning a hole in its considerable pockets. With so much surplus money on its books the bank is drafting John Flint, head of Asian fixed income and derivatives trading, to London to coordinate the management of its balance sheet.
The move will re-unite Flint with Mike Powell, treasurer of HSBC Bank and head of global markets, who left Hong Kong for London in April 2003. In his new role - managing director of balance sheet management for Europe and the Middle East - Flint will once again report to Powell, who was previously head of global markets for Asia. HSBC has not yet announced a replacement for Flint, but it is expected to be an internal candidate.
The role, which Flint will take up on April 15, is a new one for the bank. At the moment its balance sheets are managed separately across different parts of the business. Flint's job will be to create a regional strategy for managing the books. "There's money to be made, or saved, from coordinating this much better," says Flint. "It's basically a question of functionalizing an existing process."
