LONDON - HSBC's Wealth and Personal Banking chief Nuno Matos is resigning to pursue other opportunities, the Asia-focused bank said on Thursday, in one of several significant changes in its leadership on the eve of Georges Elhedery starting as CEO.

HSBC will replace Matos with Barry O'Byrne, currently CEO of the lender's commercial bank, in a sign that Elhedery is seeking continuity of strategy rather than a major overhaul of the wealth business led by an external hire.

"I suspect that Georges will want HSBC to look like a swan over the next five years - stability at the top, but lots of activity under the water," Ben Toms, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, told Reuters.

"Unfortunately stability at the top probably means lack of short-term opportunity for the ambitious, high quality management, who are one rung down. This morning's news is probably a reflection of this construct."

The wealth business that O'Byrne takes over is at the heart of HSBC's broader strategy to grow fee-based income, at a time when its main other source of revenue from lending is set to fall in step with cuts to global central bank policy rates.

HSBC aims to double the assets under management in its British wealth business to 100 billion pounds ($131 billion) in the next five years, Reuters reported earlier this month.

Hong Kong-based Matos, who joined HSBC in 2015, was also among the internal candidates vying to take over from Noel Quinn as group CEO, before the board appointed chief financial officer Elhedery last month, sources told Reuters at the time.

ADVISORY ROLE

Matos was a member of the bank's 18-strong group executive committee and has served in several of its largest regions, including Europe and Latin America.

Matos is expected to serve in an advisory capacity throughout 2024 before leaving the group in 2025. HSBC said it would give an update on O'Byrne's successor in due course.

John Hinshaw, group chief operating officer, and Elaine Arden, group chief human resources officer, both members of the executive committee, are also leaving the group, the bank said.

Elhedery, who takes over the reins officially on Monday, will split the responsibilities between two new Group Executive Committee level roles – an elevated and expanded role of Group Chief Information Officer (GCIO), and a newly defined Group Chief Operating Officer (GCOO), HSBC said.

Stuart Riley has been appointed to the expanded GCIO role, which will assume responsibility for Data and Innovation. The remaining Group COO duties will become the responsibility of the new GCOO, who will be appointed at a later date.

The London-based bank has been exploring financial incentives and reallocating key projects to retain internal candidates who missed out on the top job, with some shareholders concerned the CEO appointment would trigger more management upheaval, Reuters reported last month before Elhedery's appointment.

Besides navigating escalating geopolitics and an unpredictable rate environment, the changes unveiled on Thursday leave Elhedery with three major roles to fill early in his tenure.

Elhedery's successor as CFO, Jonathan Bingham, who also takes up his job on Sept. 2, is described as interim, as is Global Banking & Markets Chief Operating Officer, Suzy White, who has been appointed GCOO, while a formal recruitment process is carried out.

In this interim capacity, White will attend HSBC's Global Executive Committee but will not be a member.

(Reporting By Sinead Cruise and Lawrence White; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and David Holmes)