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Saturday, Dec 13, 2025
Outside the box.
HSBC Ends Historic International Manager Scheme as Part of Cost-Cutting Push
The bank closes a one-hundred-and-sixty-year-old leadership track as it restructures operations and targets major expense reductions
HSBC has ended its long-standing International Manager programme, a management track with roots stretching back roughly one hundred and sixty years, as part of a broader effort to reduce costs and simplify its global structure.
The scheme, once regarded as an elite pathway to senior leadership within the bank, has been closed to new entrants.
Employees who already hold International Manager status will keep it, but no further appointments will be made.
The decision forms part of a wider restructuring drive under Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery, who assumed leadership in late two thousand twenty-four and has placed strong emphasis on efficiency, cost discipline, and organizational clarity.
HSBC has set out plans to reduce annual expenses by approximately one point five billion dollars by the end of two thousand twenty-six, alongside a reorganization of its business into a smaller number of core divisions.
Historically, the International Manager scheme offered global postings and distinct employment terms, including enhanced benefits and allowances.
Over time, however, internal reviews concluded that the programme had become misaligned with modern employment practices and contributed to divisions within the workforce.
The scheme had already been largely paused in recent years, and its formal closure marks the end of a model closely associated with HSBC’s colonial-era origins and global expansion.
The move comes amid wider changes at the bank, including reductions in senior management layers, consolidation of support functions, and a sharper strategic focus on priority markets, particularly in Asia.
HSBC’s leadership has said that international experience will remain an important part of career development, but without the exclusive status attached to the historic programme.
The closure of the International Manager scheme underscores the scale of change underway at one of the world’s largest banks, as it seeks to adapt its culture and cost base to a more competitive and fast-moving global financial environment.
The scheme, once regarded as an elite pathway to senior leadership within the bank, has been closed to new entrants.
Employees who already hold International Manager status will keep it, but no further appointments will be made.
The decision forms part of a wider restructuring drive under Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery, who assumed leadership in late two thousand twenty-four and has placed strong emphasis on efficiency, cost discipline, and organizational clarity.
HSBC has set out plans to reduce annual expenses by approximately one point five billion dollars by the end of two thousand twenty-six, alongside a reorganization of its business into a smaller number of core divisions.
Historically, the International Manager scheme offered global postings and distinct employment terms, including enhanced benefits and allowances.
Over time, however, internal reviews concluded that the programme had become misaligned with modern employment practices and contributed to divisions within the workforce.
The scheme had already been largely paused in recent years, and its formal closure marks the end of a model closely associated with HSBC’s colonial-era origins and global expansion.
The move comes amid wider changes at the bank, including reductions in senior management layers, consolidation of support functions, and a sharper strategic focus on priority markets, particularly in Asia.
HSBC’s leadership has said that international experience will remain an important part of career development, but without the exclusive status attached to the historic programme.
The closure of the International Manager scheme underscores the scale of change underway at one of the world’s largest banks, as it seeks to adapt its culture and cost base to a more competitive and fast-moving global financial environment.
