HSBC has named two Asia-based executives as co-CEOs of its global insurance business. Daisy Tsang, CEO of HSBC Life Hong Kong, and Kai Zhang, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking, Asia, HSBC, replace Edward Moncreiffe in HSBC’s insurance leadership, according to the South China Morning Post.

Moncreiffe is leaving after two decades at the bank.

The memo was issued jointly by Barry O’Byrne, Chief Executive Officer, International Wealth and Premier Banking at HSBC, and David Liao and Surendra Rosha, co-CEOs for Asia and the Middle East.

It described the appointments as effective immediately and said Moncreiffe is leaving “to pursue external opportunities”.

Tsang and Zhang will carry their existing responsibilities alongside the new one, which splits a single global role across two serving executives.

Both will take on the HSBC insurance leadership at a difficult moment for the sector, with Beijing tightening its grip on how wealthy mainland families use cross-border wealth and insurance products. Earlier this month, authorities started applying a 20% tax on gains from offshort insurance policies.

Under Moncreiffe, HSBC Life Hong Kong issued a US$250 million life insurance policy that Guinness World Records certified in February 2024 as the most valuable ever sold.

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