HSBC Holdings exec named to MasterCard board.

MasterCard International's board of directors elected its first new member since chief executive H. Eugene Lockhart took the helm in March.

The new director, Patrick J. BoyIan, is a senior officer of HSBC Holdings PLC of Hong Kong, a holding company whose financial subsidiaries include Midland Bank PLC of London.

"Pat's seat on our board is recognition that HSBC Holdings plays a very important role," said Mr. Lockhart. When MasterCard began its search for a director, he added, "we found that HSBC was represented on all of our regional boards."

Mr. BoyIan, a resident of London, manages Midland Bank's card and electronic banking business, as well as its parent's worldwide card operations, for which he reports to John Bond, group chief executive of HSBC Holdings.

While he and Mr. Lockhart both have ties to Midland Bank Mr. Lockhart's tenure there in several senior posts lasted six years and ended in 1992 - they did not work together.

Midland Bank and HSBC Holdings had no relationship when Mr. Lockhart worked for the bank.

"We knew each other, and talked a lot, and I had a great deal of respect for Pat," said Mr. Lockhart.

Mr. BoyIan is no stranger to MasterCard; he serves on the boards of Europay International and MasterCard Middle EastAfrica region, as well as being chairman of MasterCard/Europay United Kingdom.

Mr. BoyIan is the 13th member of the New York-based association's global board. MasterCard will add two or three more members in the next few months, Mr. Lockhart said.

Since March, when MasterCard held its annual meeting and Alex W. "Pete" Hart officially handed over the reins to Mr. Lockhart, six global board members have resigned.

A spokeswoman for MasterCard said the resignauons involved board members who either left their posts at their banks 20 or were replaced on the board by another official of the same bank, which is a common practice. The criteria for selecting new board members primarily involve how much business the executive's bank does with MasterCard.

Mr. Lockhart said the association looks for directors who have "significant card and bank experience, an appreciation of all aspects of banking, and someone who is senior enough in the organization to be able to represent the bank's interests."

"A growing number of our members are interested in the business of delivering retail banking services worldwide," Mr. Lockhart said, "and Patrick's insights on how MasterCard can best support them will be extremely valuable."

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