HSBC 2009 Annual Report Download - page 11

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international and emerging markets bank. We have
also never forgotten that it is our responsibility to
make a real contribution to economic and social
development, and that our ability to do so is
fundamental to our success in delivering sustainable
value to our shareholders.
Meeting our commitments to the communities
we serve around the world is not some optional extra
or by-product of our business – it is part of our
raison d’ être. In Argentina, which was in the midst
of the peso crisis ten years ago, we did not abandon
our customers and have remained committed to the
market ever since. In 2009, our operations there
reported their best-ever underlying performance and
resumed paying cash dividends to the Group in
January 2010. In mainland China, we are proud of
our position as the leading international bank, and
we continued to build our strong rural presence
during the year. In Indonesia, we nearly doubled our
network to support the growing financial needs of
personal and business banking customers, and we
launched our SME fund in the United Arab Emirates
in January 2010. These are just a few examples
which illustrate our commitment to helping people
prepare for the future, building prosperity and
security for their families and communities.
Robust corporate governance and unrivalled
management experience
In 2009 we announced that, as Group Chief
Executive, Michael Geoghegan would take
responsibility for developing strategy as part of his
overall responsibilities for the performance of the
Group’s business. We relocated the principal office
of the Group Chief Executive to Hong Kong and, on
1 February 2010, he succeeded Vincent Cheng as
Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited. This underscores our
commitment to our emerging markets businesses and
reflects the historic shift now taking place in the
global economy.
HSBC’s corporate headquarters remain in the
UK, where we continue to benefit from being at the
heart of one of the world’s pre-eminent financial
centres. From this base, as Chairman, I spend an
increasing amount of my time engaging with
policymakers and regulators throughout the world on
behalf of the Group, on the growing number of
policy issues which are crucial for the banking
industry in general and for HSBC in particular.
At HSBC, we have an extremely strong, diverse
and engaged Board and the international experience
and expertise of our management team is something
which sets us apart. We are committed to delivering
effective supervision and to compliance with the
principles set out in the Walker Review in the UK.
During 2009, we also took further steps to strengthen
our top management team. Sandy Flockhart was
appointed Chairman, Personal and Commercial
Banking, with responsibility for Personal Financial
Services, Commercial Banking and Insurance,
HSBC’s Latin American and African businesses, and
most Group functions. Stuart Gulliver was appointed
Chairman, Europe, Middle East and Global
Businesses and assumed responsibility for Private
Banking, adding to his responsibilities for Global
Banking and Markets. Douglas Flint assumed
additional responsibilities for Regulation and
Compliance in an expanded role as Chief Financial
Officer, Executive Director, Risk and Regulation.
Peter Wong was appointed Chief Executive of The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
Limited, succeeding Sandy Flockhart.
I would like to thank Vincent Cheng for his
tremendous contribution over the past five years as
Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited, and look forward to continuing
to work with him as a main Board member and
Chairman of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited.
I would also like to say thank you on behalf of
the Board to three of our directors, José Luis Durán,
William Fung and Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, who will
retire by rotation at the 2010 Annual General
Meeting and will not seek re-election. It has been a
privilege to work with each of them and all of us on
the Board are extremely grateful for their counsel
and support.
Learning the lessons from the crisis
In 2009, the G20 set out its clear belief that
sustainable globalisation and rising prosperity will
require an open world economy based on market
principles, effective regulation, and strong global
institutions. At HSBC, we agree that these principles
are critical for the common good. It is vital that the
industry should engage constructively in the debate
about how this should work in practice and HSBC is
participating fully in these discussions. In our view,
the overall objective must be to deliver three
effective market mechanisms.
Competitive product provision is fundamental to
economic and social development. In the recent past,
attempts to drive ever greater profits from the same
source resulted in distorted products, lack of
transparency and over-complexity. The industry
needs to learn the lessons from this and deliver a
market which provides financial services that are
competitive, transparent and responsive to genuine