By Tatiana Bautzer, Andres Gonzalez and Iain Withers
-Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, hired Santander banker Victor Matarranz as Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking (IWPB) for the Americas and Europe, the bank said on Thursday.
The lender has been reshuffling the unit and named Barry O’Byrne its CEO in October as it seeks to further strengthen what has become its main profit driver.
Matarranz, who led the wealth management and insurance unit at rival Santander until last year, will oversee the bank’s wealth strategy outside of Asia.
In 2024, wealth and personal banking was HSBC’s biggest earner, generating $12.2 billion in profit — up 5.2% from the previous year — as it attracted new customers and sold more wealth management products.
“Victor whose broad experience in leading wealth businesses in these regions will help us sharpen our focus on serving affluent to ultra-high net worth clients onshore and across global corridors,” O’Byrne said in a statement.
HSBC also made changes to the unit in Asia in April, when its top wealth manager overseeing China left the role. The lender has been cutting hundreds of jobs from its digital wealth project in the country.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, Andres Gonzalez and Iain Withers. Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Anousha Sakoui)
