Prodding its U.S. units to work more closely together, HSBC Holdings PLC announced several senior management changes.
Sandy Derickson, a vice chairman of HSBC Finance Corp., will succeed Martin Glynn as the president and chief executive officer of another U.S. unit, HSBC USA Inc. of New York, and its HSBC Bank USA of Wilmington, Del. Mr. Glynn plans to retire at yearend.
"A key element of our strategy in North America really has been around ensuring and achieving greater collaboration around different businesses within the finance company and between the finance company and the bank," Bobby Mehta, the CEO of HSBC North America Holdings Inc., said Monday in an interview.
HSBC North America is the Prospect Heights, Ill., umbrella company for HSBC Finance, also of Prospect Heights, and HSBC USA.
Ms. Derickson, 53, became a vice chairman of HSBC Finance, then called Household International Inc., in May 2004 after nearly four years as the CEO. She joined HSBC when it bought Household in 2003.
As a vice chairman, she oversees HSBC Finance's retail services, insurance services, auto finance, and HFC Bank in the United Kingdom. Before joining HSBC Finance in 2000 she had worked for 24 years at GE Capital Auto Financial Services.
Mr. Glynn, 55, has held his current position since 2002. Before that he had been the chairman and CEO of HSBC's Canadian banking company, another subsidiary of HSBC North America.
He has been with the London company for 24 years, and Mr. Mehta said the retirement plan provided an opportune time to restructure some of the finance and banking business lines.
Ms. Derickson's duties will be divided between Brendan McDonagh, who will become a group executive of HSBC Finance and HSBC North America, and Tom Detelich, who will remain a group executive of consumer lending and HSBC Finance.
Mr. McDonagh, who has been with the company since 1979, will retain his title and duties as the chief operating officers of HSBC Bank USA until Dec. 1, though he will start his new job Sept. 1. He will manage HSBC's Taxpayer Financial Services, insurance services, auto finance, and HFC Bank's British consumer finance operations.
In addition to retaining his current duties, Mr. Detelich will take over HSBC Mortgage Services.
First-half pretax profits at HSBC North America rose 15% from a year earlier, to $4.3 billion, or 34.1% of the parent company's total. During the first half of last year HSBC North America generated 34.9% of the parent company's pretax profits.
However, HSBC chairman Stephen K. Green said last month in a meeting with analysts that his company was bracing itself for potential credit quality problems in its U.S. adjustable-rate mortgage portfolio.
"The consequent effect on future price appreciation, together with the impact of higher interest rates on adjustable-rate mortgages that reach reset dates, will put pressure on some borrowers," Mr. Green said in prepared remarks. "Although overall retail credit experience in the U.S. has been favorable in the first half of 2006, we began to see some deterioration in certain segments amongst recent mortgage originations."
Simon Adamson, an analyst with CreditSights Ltd., wrote in a research note that ARMs make up about 17% of the company's U.S. mortgage business - including both HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Finance.
Mr. Mehta said his company took higher loan-loss provisions in the first half as a precaution, but he also said its first-lien mortgage credit quality remains strong.
Also Monday, HSBC Holdings said Paul Lawrence, the CEO of HSBC Singapore, will take over its U.S. corporate, investment banking, and markets group. He will report both to Ms. Derickson and Stuart Gulliver, the group's worldwide CEO.
