HSBC could revisit strategy in face of coronavirus crisis

Bloomberg

HSBC Holdings Plc may need to revise its restructuring plans after the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic settles.
Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn told investors that HSBC faced a “very different” context compared to February, when he announced a plan to cut about 30,000 jobs over the next three years.
“We will need to consider what additional actions we need to take in response to the new economic circumstances that will emerge post Covid-19,” Quinn said in remarks published alongside the bank’s annual general meeting.
HSBC has already paused job cuts in light of the pandemic, saying that firing staff at the present time would be wrong. However, Quinn said that the crisis had made the global economic backdrop “considerably more uncertain.”
Quinn was appointed permanent CEO of HSBC last month, having led the bank on an interim basis since last August after his predecessor, John Flint, was ousted by chairman Mark Tucker.
The new boss has faced a series of tests as the pandemic spread. This month, retail investors in Hong Kong reacted with fury after HSBC scrapped its dividend under pressure from the Bank of England. Quinn and Tucker also responded to growing criticism of bankers’ pay by agreeing to donate some of their compensation to virus-related charities.
In the statement, Tucker repeated the bank’s apology to investors for the dividend cut and said the company would review its policy ahead of its full-year results. “This action was not taken lightly and reflects the view of the group’s lead regulator that extra prudence is needed in these unprecedented times, so that banks like ours can help support customers,” he said.
Tucker added that the spread of the virus had led to “unprecedented social and economic instability.”