Group CFO of HSBC Pam Kaur to Step Down in 2027

HSBC’s first female CFO announced that she will be stepping down after 13 years at the bank, effective in 2027. 

HSBC said that Pam will not stand for re-election in its 2027 AGM, according to Reuters. She will still provide advice to CEO Georges Elhedery. 

To replace Pam, HSBC is looking at both internal and external candidates. 

Pam Kaur, CFO of HSBC notes on LinkedIn: “This week, I announced that I plan to leave the Group CFO role in 2027. This is a deeply personal decision, reached after reflecting on a four-decade career, of which more than 13 years have been at HSBC. 

“The strategic transformation we’ve delivered at HSBC gives me immense pride and 2027 feels the right time to embrace new leadership opportunities, apply my experience in a different context, and take on exciting new challenges.

“I am proud of what we have achieved during my time as Group CFO. Through strong discipline, performance and delivery, we have made excellent progress together in repositioning HSBC for growth and driving enterprise value, and this is reflected by the market and our stakeholders. This reflects the hard work, judgement and collaboration of colleagues across HSBC.”

A decade of financial experience at HSBC

Carrying over 40 years of finance experience with her, Pam stepped into the Group CFO role at HSBC on 1 January, 2025. 

Previously she joined HSBC as Group Head of Internal Audit in 2013, working her way over from Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Restructuring and Risk Division for Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and Global Head of Internal Audit at Deutsche Bank. 

Her other prior roles include Group Head of Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering for Lloyds TSB and Chief Compliance Officer for Citigroup International.

At HSBC, her experience ensured a steady rise through the ranks, holding the Group Chief Risk Officer role during a turbulent 2020, before absorbing Compliance into the role in 2021, where she remained until 2024. 

She continues: “I am energised by what we are building at HSBC, which is why I am delighted to continue as an adviser to support our Group CEO Georges Elhedery with ongoing enterprise-wide projects and ensure a smooth transition. I will also continue to serve as a Non-Executive Director on the HBAP Board.”

Shares have risen 125% since Pam’s leadership, according to Reuters. 

The wider leadership angle

Georges Elhedery, Group CEO, is still pioneering the bank with its digital innovation and modernisation plans, as the bank considered a new plan that would cut up to 20,000 roles, according to Bloomberg. 

It fits with Georges’ plan to ensure the bank is more dynamic and agile in its structure, which he made clear upon his appointment in 2024. 

HSBC partners: 

Shelter: a social partnership to ensure unhoused people are given access to a bank account to support job applications and stability, HSBC partners with Shelter. Shelter is a UK-based housing charity in London, UK. The non-profit was founded in 1966 and operates under Sarah Elliott, CEO for Shelter England. 

Stripe: Financial infrastructure giant founded in 2010, Stripe, pairs with HSBC so that the bank supports it across markets, at speed. Stripe operates under CEO and Co-Founder Patrick Collison and is based in the US. Its International headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland and US headquarters are in California, US.

DHL: A long-standing partnership between the delivery leader and the global bank means that the reach for both can be increased, according to CEO John Pearson. DHL was founded in 1969 and currently operates in its international HQ in Bonn, Germany. 

Ant International: Peng Yang is CEO of Ant International, which pairs with HSBC after the bank launched a tokenised deposit to support 24/7 payments in Singapore. Ant International was founded in 2023, as part of its parent company Ant Group, a fintech giant in Asia. Ant International is headquartered in Singapore.