HSBC Bank has appointed Omar Siddiq as its new chief executive officer (CEO) for Malaysia, succeeding Stuart Milne, who will retire end of March 2022 after a 40-year career with the group.

In a statement today, the bank said Omar will report to Surendra Rosha, co-chief executive for HSBC Asia Pacific and will also join the boards of HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad and HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad as an executive director, as well as a member of the Asia Pacific executive committee.

HSBC Bank noted that, prior to the appointment, Omar was most recently deputy CEO Malaysia and CEO for group wholesale banking at CIMB Group Holdings Berhad.

Prior to joining CIMB, he was the head of group wholesale banking at RHB Bank Berhad and also the former executive director and group chief financial officer at Malaysia Airlines. He had also held roles in the investments division at Khazanah Nasional Bhd and was a member of the senior management team focusing on the aviation and airport sectors.

On his appointment, Omar said he was looking forward to working alongside the management team and also the boards to build on the current momentum to fulfil the bank’s potential.

“We welcome Omar into his role as the CEO for HSBC Bank Malaysia to lead us in our next phase of growth. Malaysia presents huge opportunities across some of HSBC’s key strategic focus areas of growth in Asean, sustainable finance and digital innovation.

“Omar’s extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of the local market will be invaluable as we strengthen our Malaysian operations to support the group’s Asian growth ambitions,” Surendra said.

Meanwhile in a separate statement, CIMB Group Holdings announced Omar’s resignation and that it had activated its selection and transition planning process.

“In the interim, CIMB’s group wholesale banking business will be directly overseen by Abdul Rahman Ahmad, group CEO of CIMB Group,” it said in a statement. – Bernama, January 12, 2022.