Clark has worked at the company since 2005 when he joined as head of UK retail and will report directly to Rudolf Apenbrink, CEO of HSBC Global AM (EMEA).
In 2008 Clark was given additional responsibility for wholesale distribution in the MENA region and in 2011 he became regional head of wholesale EMEA.
The appointment is subject to regulatory approval and follows the departure of Brown who is going to pursue other interests. HSBC was unable to confirm if these were within the industry or outside it.
Brown had been with HSBC for 16 years and had been UK CEO for the past five.
Meanwhile, the firm’s parent bank HSBC reported pre-tax profit of $3.5bn in the third quarter down $3.7bn on the same period last year.
But HSBC said this was related to adverse movements on the fair value of its own debt and that underlying profit before tax for the quarter was $5bn, up 125% on Q3 2011.
“The main factors driving improvement in underlying profit before tax for Q3 2012 and the nine months ended 30 September were increased revenues in global banking and markets and commercial banking.”
The bank’s third quarter results also include a provision of $800m in relation to the ongoing US anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act and Office of Foreign Assets Control investigations.
HSBC said it was actively engaged in discussions with US authorities but there was not yet an agreement and the final amount of the financial penalties could be higher than the amount accrued.
