HSBC names Dame Clara Furse as boss of new ring-fenced HSBC UK

HSBC has confirmed that former London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) (LSE) boss Dame Clara Furse has been appointed as non-executive chairman of its new ring-fenced arm, HSBC UK.

The hiring, which still has to be approved by regulators and was first reported by Sky News , would see Dame Clara take up the position from 1 April 2017 although HSBC UK will not officially commence operations until 2018.

Dame Clara has stepped down from the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC), on which she has served for the last three years, as a result of her new position.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) said she was "delighted" to be joining the company as HSBC UK's first chairman.

"The creation of HSBC UK offers a great opportunity to get closer to the businesses and communities we serve and to support their ambitions for growth and prosperity," she said.

Her appointment represents a vital part of the bank's efforts to ensure that robust corporate governance arrangements are in place ahead of the most significant overhaul of British banking regulation for generations.

Under plans set out in 2011, UK-headquartered banks holding deposits of at least £25bn must segregate their retail and commercial functions from wholesale and investment banking activities.

The reforms will come into effect in 2019, although the affected banks Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group (Other OTC: LLOBF - news) , Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) and Santander UK (LSE: 44RS.L - news) will be required to demonstrate their readiness from early 2018.

The changes are aimed at preventing a repetition of the 2008 banking crisis, when taxpayers were left with a bill running to tens of billions of pounds to rescue failing universal banks - those with both retail and investment banking operations under common ownership.

HSBC has set out an ambitious blueprint for its ring-fenced bank, which will be based in Birmingham, with approximately 1,000 staff relocating from its existing London group head office.

The bank's 1,000 high street branches in the UK will be rebranded as HSBC UK, after executives considered reviving the Midland name ditched nearly 20 years ago.

In a memo to staff announcing the branding decision last year, Stuart Gulliver, HSBC's group chief executive, said: "Our ambition is to be the bank of choice in the UK and as a name, HSBC UK will build on the global connectivity and customer trust of the HSBC brand and differentiate us in a competitive market."

HSBC's non-ring-fenced bank, which will comprise other UK-based activities such as its global banking and markets business, will continue to be branded under the existing HSBC name.