HSBC's Davis moves on

HSBC announced yesterday that local chief executive Stuart Davis would leave Australia to head the bank's Indian operation. No successor was announced.

Davis took the bank through a period of change in 2005 and 2006, when it got out of a number of businesses that were sub-scale or not performing. The bank sold out of stockbroking, margin lending and retail asset management.

He introduced a store finance business and bulked up the sub-custody side of the business. He repositioned the retail business as a more upmarket service with the introduction of the Premier account, which provides investment and cross-border services.

In a 2006 interview he summed up his approach to the Australian market: "We have to pick our segments. We don't want to go head to head with the majors in their areas of strength. If we did that we would end up being roadkill."