HSBC Names Cronin Head of Corporate Banking in Northeast

HSBC Bank USA has promoted one of its own to fill an important commercial banking post.

Paul Cronin will serve as the new head of corporate banking for the Northeast and New York City, HSBC Bank, a unit of HSBC Holdings (HBC), said Monday. He was previously regional president for commercial banking in upstate New York and the Midwest.

He succeeds Diane D'Erasmo, whom HSBC last week named to its newly created position of executive vice president of international commercial banking in the U.S.

Cronin will serve large corporate and midsize clients in the Northeast and New York City. He will be based in New York and will report to Steve Bottomley, head of commercial banking for North America.

"Paul Cronin's deep international banking background will further enhance the needs and growth of our clients as we meet this key region's unique demand for global scale and local knowledge," Bottomley said in a news release. "Paul's role will strongly support our goal to expand our U.S. footprint in critical sites with international connectivity."

Cronin has more than 25 years of experience in banking, international business and accounting. He joined HSBC in 2008 as regional commercial banking executive for the Midwest. He led the Chicago-based corporate banking team serving the international needs of Midwest companies.

Before joining HSBC, Cronin held various senior positions at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), LaSalle Bank and ABN AMRO Bank. LaSalle, which was acquired by Bank of America (BAC) in 2007, was formerly an indirect subsidiary of ABN AMRO.