HSBC Holdings plc : HSBC appoints Chief Legal Officer

13 January 2012

HSBC Holdings plc announces the appointment of Stuart Levey as Chief Legal Officer. Mr Levey will be based in London and report to Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive.

Richard Bennett, Group Managing Director and Group General Counsel, will work with Mr Levey during a transition period and retire from HSBC after over 33 years of service at the end of 2012. Mr Bennett will continue as a part-time adviser to the Group Chief Executive after he retires.

Mr Levey served as the first Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the US Department of the Treasury from July 2004 to February 2011 under Presidents Bush and Obama. Prior to his Treasury appointment, he was the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Prior to joining the DoJ in 2001, Mr Levey spent 11 years in private practice in Washington. Mr Levey is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Stuart Gulliver commented: "I am delighted Stuart is joining HSBC after a distinguished career in private practice and government service. His experience dealing with international financial and legal issues is highly relevant to a global bank such as HSBC. I am also pleased Stuart will be able to draw on Richard's extensive experience over the next few months, and that Richard has agreed to continue as an adviser to me after he retires."

Biographies of Messrs Levey and Bennett are available from the download box to the top right of this page.

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Notes to editors:

The HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 7,500 offices in over 80 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North and Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,716bn at 30 September 2011, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.