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Global private banking, wealth head Annabel Spring to

leave

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Gabriel Castello to be interim CEO for global private

banking

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CEO Elhedery aims to streamline bank, improve

decision-making

By Selena Li, Lawrence White and Sinead Cruise

HONG KONG/LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - HSBC ( HSBC )

announced a raft of senior management departures and

appointments on Thursday, as CEO Georges Elhedery completed the

first phase of a sweeping overhaul aimed at streamlining costs

and improving decision making.

Global Private Banking and Wealth head Annabel Spring was

among the most senior newly-announced departures, according to a

company release. She will be replaced by Gabriel Castello as

interim CEO for global private banking, starting Jan. 1.

Former Morgan Stanley ( MS ) and Barclays ( JJCTF ) investment banker Matthew

Ginsburg will also leave the bank, it said.

HSBC ( HSBC ) in October unveiled a plan to merge some operations and

split its geographic footprint into East and West, and remove

duplicate roles as it focuses on Asia to try to cap costs and

bolster income.

The revamp, one of the largest in years for the

London-headquartered bank, has seen a steady flow of senior

managers depart in recent weeks as Elhedery sought to create a

simpler and more dynamic organisation.

"We have now completed the next stage of these important

changes, which will help us fast forward our plans to execute

our strategic priorities," Elhedery said in a separate release.

The bank also promoted Lisa McGeough to become its CEO for

the United States, its first female CEO in the region for more

than a decade.

McGeough, who currently serves as co-head of global banking

coverage, will drive the expansion of HSBC's ( HSBC ) wholesale business

in the U.S., the bank said.

Her predecessor, Michael Roberts, was recently elevated to

CEO of the newly-merged corporate and institutional banking

business and will relocate to London.

Among the more high profile exits in recent weeks was chief

sustainability officer Celine Herweijer, who stepped down weeks

after a previous stage of Elhedery's reshuffle removed her role

from the lender's executive committee.

"I don't think there will ever truly be an end to the

shuffling and churning at an organisation as large as HSBC ( HSBC ), but

one would hope the pace slows and allows some stability for the

workforce," Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood told Reuters.

"This should then allow the business to grow and develop

which, in turn, should be positive for shareholders if the

changes that have been made were effective," he added.

HSBC's ( HSBC ) shares have risen 20% this year as it reported robust

earnings despite falling interest rates, outperforming Britain's

wider FTSE 100 index which has risen nearly 8%.