HSBC Russia CEO Stadler to leave as sanctions freeze market

By bne IntelliNews September 8, 2015

bne IntelliNews -

 

Mark Stadler, the highly-experienced chief executive of HSBC in Russia, is leaving his role after three years, as the banking market in the country continues to offer poor returns, bne IntelliNews has learned. Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis have choked the country's capital markets for half of his tenure in Moscow and there are no signs that they will be eased any time soon.  

Stadler – who has over 30 years experience as a financier and 20 years at Europe's biggest lender – will move to Dubai at the end of the month to run commercial banking across the Middle East and North Africa, according to a source close to the bank.

HSBC's press representatives in London and their regional spokeswoman in Armenia did not reply to calls or e-mails seeking comment.

Stadler, 55, had previously worked in Dubai for HSBC as well as at positions in Hong Kong and London, where he had been interim head of the private bank for the UK prior to his Russia appointment. He will be replaced by Malachy McAllister, a much less experienced financier who currently runs capital financing in France.   

"During boom times, Russia is a great place for the banks to develop their international talent as we often see exceptionally gifted business leaders produce equally exceptional results," says Nick Rees, former Russia country manager for recruiter SThree. "Unfortunately, we are far from another boom period for Russia so it makes sense not to waste this talent in a dead market and export it to other regions where the investment in talent can be rewarded far, far quicker."

HSBC exited its retail business in both Russia and Poland in 2011 as part of pullback from consumer lending in certain markets. Its retail loan book was later sold to Citigroup, which is long entrenched in Russia, and its branches to state behemoth Sberbank.

In June, group boss Stuart Gulliver announced the lender would be selling operations in Turkey and Brazil under a plan to slash 25,000 jobs globally.

HSBC's corporate business in Russia serving large multinationals has been hit badly by EU and US sanctions and the recession, which has limited the ability of companies to grow. Project and export finance for Russian corporate looking to trade overseas has also been hampered. 

The bank, which has about 250 employees in Moscow and St Petersburg, was highly  active arranging foreign debt sales and loan for Russian corporates prior to sanctions being imposed on Russia over its seizure of Ukrainian territory.

Fees for arranging bond, mergers and IPOs in Russia slumped by 50% in the first six months of the year to about $70mn compared to the same period a year ago, according to Freeman & Co, a US financial data firm. VTB's Chief Executive Officer Andrey Kostin warned in the summer that he doesn’t expect US sanctions to be lifted for another three years.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on September 8 that Russia's Renaissance Capital is cutting its global headcount by 5% while Deutsche Bank, the biggest foreign investment bank in Moscow, is mulling a 10% reduction in Russia.

 

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