HSBC names Graham FitzGerald as new Philippine head

MANILA, Philippines — British banking giant HSBC announced yesterday the appointment of Graham FitzGerald as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) for its operations in the Philippines.

FitzGerald is set to replace Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso, who is set to become the new president and chief executive officer of the Lucio-Tan led Philippine National Bank (PNB) by Nov. 16.

“HSBC has appointed Graham FitzGerald as president and CEO for HSBC Philippines, with the effective date subject to regulatory approval,” the bank said in a statement.

FitzGerald is currently the HSBC international senior executive, a unit that has oversight over 10 of the group’s markets in Asia.

He joined HSBC in the United Kingdom in 2004. During his 14 years with the HSBC group, he worked in a variety of roles and units, including global relationship management, lending and transaction management, and regional operations and corporate banking.

His career with HSBC has also taken him to many locations, including New Zealand – his home country – United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates – where he was regional chief operating officer and regional head of corporate banking for HSBC’s commercial banking business in the Middle East-North Africa region.

In 2016, he took over as CEO of HSBC Brunei until mid-2018.

“Graham’s international banking experience and strong client relationship management expertise will be invaluable as he leads one of our growing markets in Asia. The Philippines is a key country for us, important as part of the group’s much valued international network and for its place within the ASEAN bloc, which has a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion and a population of 650 million”, said Peter Wong, HSBC deputy chairman and chief executive for Asia Pacific.

“We wish to thank Wick for his 24 years with the group and for his leadership in the Philippines since 2012,” he said.

HSBC has been operating in the Philippines for 143 years.

HSBC Philippines serves its customers through four global businesses, including wholesale banking, which integrates global banking and commercial banking; global markets, which includes HSBC securities services and debt capital markets; retail banking and wealth management; and global private banking.