HSBC Asset Management's global head of sustainability to depart

By Virginia Furness

LONDON (Reuters) -The top sustainable finance executive at HSBC's asset management division is leaving the firm, HSBC said on Friday, the latest in a series of departures from the bank amid a restructuring under its new chief executive.

The exit of Erin Leonard, global head of sustainability at HSBC Asset Management, follows the departure of the bank's former chief sustainability officer, Celine Herweijer, at the end of last year as the bank reassesses environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies under CEO Georges Elhedery. 

There has been rising pushback against ESG in the United States - where HSBC has a mid-sized business focused on international corporates - both before and after the election of President Donald Trump. As a result, many financial firms have scaled back their commitment to issues such as tackling climate change.  

Leonard headed HSBC Asset Management's Sustainability Office, which was created in 2021 to manage its sustainable investing efforts and strategy. She also had oversight of its diversity, equity and inclusion-focused initiatives.

The responsibilities of that office have now been distributed across other businesses within the asset management division, a spokesperson for the asset manager said. 

Other sustainability-related initiatives have been consolidated under the Responsible Investment team led by Cathrine de Coninck-Lopez, the spokesperson added.

Leonard was a member of the asset manager's management committee, and it was unclear whether she had also been removed from that position. HSBC declined to comment. 

Elhedery has shaken up the bank since assuming the top role six months ago by slashing the ranks of senior managers and reorganising operating divisions and duplicate roles.

The bank is on track to deliver $1.5 billion of annual savings by end-2026, equivalent to around 8% of total staff costs.

HSBC raised the ire of campaigners earlier this year by ditching its target of reaching net-zero emissions across its business by 2030 because of the slow pace of change in the real economy.

But the bank told shareholders on Friday it remains committed to its ambition of becoming a net-zero bank by 2050 and has begun a review of its targets for emissions linked to its loans, as well as associated policies.

The bank has also hired new executives, including former UK politician Danny Alexander to head up a new unit focused on infrastructure finance and project finance linked to the low-carbon transition.

In 2024, HSBC Asset Management managed $179 billion in ESG and sustainable investment strategies and remains a signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a U.N.-backed group of asset managers working to align investments to net zero. 

(Reporting by Virginia Furness; Editing by Simon Jessop and Nia Williams)