HSBC CEO Elhedery Directly Pitches Hong Kong Clients, Hires Bankers After Losing Key Mandates

HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery and his top lieutenants have been directly pitching clients in Hong Kong to revive the bank's flagging investment banking franchise, according to people familiar with the matter. The push, which includes tailored video messages to key Greater China clients, follows a global restructuring that triggered senior departures and cost it a lead role on a marquee listing. To support the effort, HSBC has hired more than a dozen investment bankers for its China business over the past year, poaching talent from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The bank is now working on about 40 initial public offerings in Hong Kong, a sharp increase from five in all of 2025, the people said. The aggressive client outreach comes after HSBC failed to secure a lead mandate for the potential $2 billion-plus IPO of A.S. Watson Group, controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., a flagship client for decades. The British lender, which generates a third of its pre-tax profit in Hong Kong, currently ranks 12th in arranging share sales in the city this year, trailing Wall Street and Chinese rivals.