HSBC 2012 Annual Report Download - page 304

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Report of the Directors: Corporate Governance (continued)
Letter from the Group Chairman / Directors
302
Suisse Group SA, and Jim Comey, former United
States Deputy Attorney General.
We have also taken steps to strengthen non-
executive oversight of matters relating to anti-money
laundering, sanctions, terrorist financing and
proliferations financing. A new Board committee, the
Financial System Vulnerabilities Committee
(‘FSVC’), will provide governance, oversight and
policy guidance over the framework of controls and
procedures designed to identify areas where HSBC
may become exposed, and through that exposure,
expose the financial system more broadly to
financial crime or system abuse. The FSVC will use
the knowledge and experience of its members to
place the Group in a position of leadership in this
area and will provide the Board with a forward-
looking perspective on financial crime risk.
The executive committee structure has been
enhanced during the year with the establishment
of a regular separate meeting of the Group
Management Board to focus on developing and
implementing global standards reflecting best
practices which must be adopted and adhered to
consistently throughout the Group.
During the year, the Board adopted a Board
diversity policy, which is consistent with the Group’s
strategic focus on ethnicity, age and gender diversity
for the employee base. At the 2011 Annual General
Meeting, I stated the Board’s intention to exceed the
aspirational target set by Lord Davies in his report
Women on Boards of 25% female representation on
the boards of FTSE 100 companies by 2015. Our
policy re-states this intention.
We recognise that our strategy to be the world’s
leading international bank relies on a foundation of
good corporate governance and we endeavour to be
at the forefront of this field in the coming years.
D J Flint, Group Chairman
4 March 2013
Directors
D J Flint, CBE, 57
Group Chairman
Skills and experience: extensive governance
experience gained through membership of the
Boards of HSBC and BP p.l.c.; considerable
knowledge of finance and risk management in
banking, multinational financial reporting, treasury
and securities trading operations; honoured with a
CBE in recognition of his services to the finance
industry; member of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of Scotland and the Association of
Corporate Treasurers. Fellow of The Chartered
Institute of Management Accountants. Joined HSBC
in 1995.
Appointed to the Board: 1995
Current appointments include: director of The
Hong Kong Association; and Chairman of the
Institute of International Finance since 6 June 2012.
A member of the Mayor of Beijing’s International
Business Leaders’ Advisory Council as well as the
Mayor of Shanghai’s International Business Leaders’
Advisory Council; and a member of the International
Advisory Board of the China Europe International
Business School, Shanghai.
Former appointments include: Group Finance
Director and Chief Financial Officer; and Executive
Director, Risk and Regulation. Co-Chairman of the
Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group III;
Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council’s
review of the Turnbull Guidance on Internal Control;
member of the Accounting Standards Board and the
Standards Advisory Council of the International
Accounting Standards Board; served on the Large
Business Forum on Tax and Competitiveness and the
Consultative Committee of the Large Business
Advisory Board of HM Revenue and Customs;
partner in KPMG; and non-executive director and
Chairman of the Audit Committee of BP p.l.c.
S T Gulliver, 53
Group Chief Executive
Skills and experience: a career banker with over
30 years’ international experience with HSBC; has
held a number of key roles in the Group’s operations
worldwide, including in London, Hong Kong,
Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and the United Arab Emirates;
played a leading role in developing and expanding
Global Banking and Markets, the wholesale banking