HSBC promoted one of its top M&A bankers into a job not everyone wants
As we reported yesterday, Alex Paul is not leaving HSBC. The investment bank is being trimmed, but Paul is safe. He is, however, being assigned a new job.
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HSBC announced today Paul will now become its head of group M&A, reporting to Will McLane, group head of strategy & corporate development.
This is a change from his previous role. Paul was the global co-head of HSBC's eclectic mix of technology, digital services and financial institutions group (FIG) bankers, based in Hong Kong. As HSBC dismantles its London, Europe and US-based M&A teams, there were suggestions that his enlarged global group would be disbanded. Some said Paul would get a newer and bigger job managing M&A in Asia. Instead, he's managing M&A for the HSBC group.
Colleagues say that this is both a promotion and not. On one hand, Paul is now playing at group level among HSBC's most powerful individuals. On the other, he's now an investment banker that doesn't deal with external clients: 'group M&A' refers to bankers working on HSBC's own deals. Paul has history here: he's thought to have worked on HSBC's purchase of Silicon Valley Bank UK in 2023.
One colleague says this is effectively the "graveyard" for banking careers, although others disagree. Despite the dismantling of the bank outside Asia and the Middle East, Paul's old team still exists: Dan Bailey, Paul's co-head in the technology, digital services and FIG team is staying at HSBC in the same role, for the moment.
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