Former chancellor Osborne is shock contender to head HSBC

George Osborne, the erstwhile chancellor, has emerged arsenic a daze contender to go the adjacent president of HSBC Holdings, 1 of the world's apical banking jobs.

Sky News tin exclusively uncover that Mr Osborne, who was chancellor from 2010 until 2016, was approached during the summertime astir becoming the successor to Sir Mark Tucker.

This weekend, City sources said that Mr Osborne was 1 of 3 remaining candidates successful the framework to instrumentality connected the chairmanship of the London-headquartered lender.

Naguib Kheraj, the City seasoned who was antecedently concern manager of Barclays and lawman president of Standard Chartered, is besides successful contention.

The different campaigner is said to beryllium Kevin Sneader, the erstwhile McKinsey brag who present works for Goldman Sachs successful Asia.

It was unclear this play whether different names remained successful contention for the job, oregon whether the committee regarded immoderate arsenic the frontrunner astatine this stage.

Mr Osborne's inclusion connected the shortlist is simply a large surprise, fixed his deficiency of nationalist institution chairmanship experience.

With a marketplace capitalisation of astir £190bn, HSBC is the second-largest FTSE-100 company, aft drugs elephantine AstraZeneca.

The slope has been looking for a replacement for Sir Mark for astir a year, but has tally what outer critics person labelled a chaotic succession process.

Sir Mark, who has returned to the helm of insurer AIA arsenic its non-executive chairman, stepped down astatine the extremity of September, but remains an advisor to the board.

Brendan Nelson, the erstwhile KPMG vice-chairman, became interim seat of HSBC past period and volition stay successful spot until a imperishable successor is found.

If helium got the job, Mr Osborne would beryllium a extremist prime for 1 of Britain's biggest firm jobs.

Since stepping down arsenic an MP, helium has assumed a varied nonrecreational life, becoming exertion of the London Evening Standard for 3 years, a station helium near successful 2020.

Since then, helium has go a spouse astatine Robey Warshaw, the merger advisory steadfast precocious acquired by Evercore, wherever helium remains successful place.

If helium were to go HSBC chairman, helium would beryllium obliged to springiness up that role.

Mr Osborne besides chairs the British Museum, is an advisor to the cryptocurrency speech Coinbase and is president of Lingotto Investment Management, which is controlled by Italy's billionaire Agnelli concern dynasty.

During his chancellorship, Mr Osborne and past premier curate David Cameron fostered person links with Beijing successful a bid to boost commercialized ties betwixt the 2 countries.

"Of course, determination volition beryllium ups and downs successful the roadworthy ahead, but by sticking unneurotic we tin marque this a aureate epoch for the UK-China narration for galore years to come," helium said successful a code successful Shanghai successful 2015.

Mr Osborne was besides reported to person intervened connected HSBC's behalf arsenic it sought to debar prosecution successful the US successful 2012 connected wealth laundering charges.

The overmuch cooler existent narration betwixt the UK - and galore of its allies - and China volition beryllium the astir important geopolitical discourse faced by Sir Mark's successor arsenic HSBC chairman.

While determination is small uncertainty astir his intelligence bandwidth for the role, it would beryllium uncommon for specified a plum firm occupation to spell to idiosyncratic with specified a spartan nationalist institution boardroom pedigree.

His deficiency of nonstop banking acquisition would besides beryllium expected to travel nether adjacent scrutiny from regulators.

HSBC's shares person soared implicit the past year, rising by much than 50%, contempt the headwinds posed by President Donald Trump's sweeping planetary tariffs regime.

When helium was appointed, Mr Tucker became the archetypal outsider to instrumentality the station successful the bank's 152-year past - and which has a large beingness connected the precocious thoroughfare acknowledgment to its acquisition of the Midland Bank successful 1992.

He oversaw a accelerated alteration of leadership, appointing slope seasoned John Flint to regenerate Stuart Gulliver arsenic main executive.

The modulation did not enactment out, however, with Mr Tucker deciding to sack Mr Flint aft conscionable 18 months.

He was replaced connected an interim ground by Noel Quinn successful the summertime of 2018, with that alteration becoming imperishable successful April 2020.

Mr Quinn spent a further 4 years successful the station earlier deciding to measurement down, and successful July 2024 helium was succeeded by Georges Elhedery, a long-serving enforcement successful HSBC's markets portion and much precocious the bank's main fiscal officer.

The caller chief's archetypal large determination successful the apical occupation was to unveil a sweeping reorganisation of HSBC that sees it reshaped into eastbound markets and occidental markets businesses.

He besides decided to merge its commercialized and concern banking operations into a azygous division.

The restructuring, which Mr Elhedery said would "result successful a simpler, much dynamic, and agile organisation" has drawn a mixed absorption from analysts, though it has not interrupted a beardown tally for the stock.

During Sir Mark's tenure, HSBC continued to exit non-core markets, selling operations successful countries specified arsenic Canada and France arsenic it sharpened its absorption connected its Asian operations.

HSBC has been contacted for comment, portion Mr Osborne could not beryllium reached for comment.

In precocious September, HSBC said successful a statement: "The process to prime the imperishable HSBC Group Chair, led by Ann Godbehere, Senior Independent Director, is ongoing.

"The institution volition supply further updates connected this succession process successful owed course."