On Tuesday, HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) said that it will simplify the bank into four business areas and appointed insider Pam Kaur as its first female finance chief, succeeding Georges Elhedery, who was appointed CEO earlier this year.

Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, corporate and institutional banking, and international wealth and premier banking will be the four separate business lines into which the company will restructure its activities starting on January 1, 2025, according to HSBC.

The group is combining its worldwide banking and markets business with its commercial banking activities, with the exception of the UK and Hong Kong.

According to the business, the new corporate and institutional banking entity will also comprise the primarily wholesale banking operations in the western markets region, which includes the non-ring-fenced banks in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Americas.

"The new structure will result in a simpler, more dynamic, and agile organisation as we focus on executing against our strategic priorities, which remain unchanged," Elhedery stated.

Like many bank executives, Elhedery under pressure to control rising costs and improve cost management at the biggest lender in Europe.

In order to concentrate on Asia and areas where it has scale, the bank, which employs roughly 214,000 people worldwide, has been eliminating redundant positions and scaling back operations in Western markets including the US, France, and Canada for years.

Kaur began working at HSBC in April 2013 as the group head of internal audit and is now the bank's top risk and compliance officer. Kaur previously held significant roles at major international banks, such as Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), which opened a new tab worldwide head of group audit, and Citigroup (C.N.), which opened a new tab global director of compliance for consumer banking.

According to HSBC, temporary Group CFO Jon Bingham will return to his position as Global Financial Controller.

"We had a strong bench of internal and external candidates to choose from and Pam was the exceptional candidate to recommend to the Board," Elhedery stated.