Niall Booker to Head HSBC North America

LONDON — HSBC Holdings PLC said Monday that Niall Booker, deputy chief executive officer of its North American unit, will take over as CEO after Brendan McDonagh retires next month.

Booker, 51, will also join the board from Aug. 1, the U.K. bank said in a statement. He has been with HSBC since 1981, and served as deputy chairman and CEO of HSBC Middle East and country head for India.

McDonagh is leaving HSBC after 30 years with the company, the bank added.

Neither executive was available for comment.

HSBC's North American operations was hard hit by the financial crisis, after the bank bought Household International Inc. — one of the largest subprime lenders in the U.S. — in 2003.

Last year, it pulled the plug on the unit's U.S. consumer-lending business, although it continued to expand its retail presence in the country.

Earlier this year, the bank said its U.S. business posted a pretax profit for the first time since the second quarter of 2007, although it didn't provide figures.

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