Back in April 2021, HSBC’s CEO Noel Quinn signalled an acceleration of the bank’s strategic shift to Asia with the announcement that Greg Guyett, co-head of HSBC’s global banking and markets division would relocate to Hong Kong “in the second half of the year,” along with Nuno Matos, chief executive of wealth and personal banking, Barry O’Byrne, chief executive of global commercial banking and Nicolas Moreau, head of asset management.
Moreau, Matos and O’Byrne packed up and dutifully headed to Hong Kong, but Guyett delayed his move, telling colleagues that Hong Kong’s draconian COVID-19 quarantine laws made it impossible to visit clients and colleagues across the world, given his global responsibilities. He was also understood to be reluctant to shift his family across.