HSBC renames investment banking after strategy shift

HSBC has removed the last vestige of the John Studzinski era by dropping the name of the division he tried to establish as a global force in mergers and acquisitions with a legion of expensive hires.

Studzinski joined from Morgan Stanley in 2003 as co-head of HSBC's corporate and investment banking division with five-year plan to establish the bank in the upper echelons of North American, European and Asian M&A.

Studzinski and co-head Stuart Gulliver spent millions hiring bankers on guaranteed bonuses around the world but the plan met with internal opposition when the division failed to build on initial progress in the M&A league tables.

Studzinski left to join private equity firm The Blackstone Group in 2006 and HSBC narrowed its focus to become an “emerging markets-led and financing focused” firm, and dropped its previously stated target of becoming a top-five bank in European M&A.

HSBC said in a statement today it has renamed Studzinski’s former division global banking and markets, following a shift in strategy in 2006.

Gulliver, a long-serving executive at HSBC and now chief executive of the renamed division, said: "When we introduced our new strategy more than a year ago we promised to be clearer about who we are and what we do. Our new name is straightforward and direct and aligns with how the business is managed."

Global Banking and Markets is comprised of five main businesses: Global Banking, Global Markets, Global Asset Management, Global Research and Principal Investments.