HSBC has combined the roles of chief information officer and
chief operating officer, in a move designed to bring the bank's
technology and customer services strategies closer together.
CIO Ken Harvey will take on the new role of chief technology and
services officer in October, replacing David Hodgkinson, who will
retire at the end of this year.
The bank said the reshuffle supports its strategy to move
towards different common computer platforms across business units
and region, dubbed
One HSBC,
Michael Geoghegan, CEO at HSBC, said, "By combining our
technology and worldwide operations more closely we can re-engineer
customers' experience of HSBC and at the same time drive down the
unit cost of production."
For example, the bank has a single platform known as HSBC Cards,
which manages three-quarters of the company's credit card users.
The platform helps HSBC achieve a single view of customers, which
is one of the main IT challenges facing banks.
Chris Skinner, CEO at
financial services think-tank Balatro said the move made sense.
"The operational people have a better understanding of the
frontline business needs than the IT people."
The combined IT and operations workforce will account for
100,000 out of 350,000 employees worldwide.