HSBC ANNOUNCES GLOBAL HEAD OF COMMERCIAL BANKING

Hamilton, Bermuda – 23 December, 2010 - HSBC Holdings plc (the “Company”; Ticker: HSBC.BH) announces the appointment of global head of Commercial Banking.

Alan Keir, currently global co-head of Commercial Banking and head of Commercial Banking Europe has been appointed global head of Commercial Banking with effect from 1 January 2011. He becomes a Group managing director and joins the Group Management Board chaired by Group chief executive-designate, Stuart Gulliver.

Alan, who will be based in London, will have day-to-day responsibility for running all aspects of HSBC’s Commercial Banking business. He will report to Sandy Flockhart, Executive Director, HSBC Holdings, and Chairman, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Commercial Banking, and Chairman of HSBC Bank plc.

HSBC is one of the world’s most international commercial banks with over three million customers in 65 markets. With over 26,000 staff and 7,500 dedicated relationship managers, Commercial Banking contributed over US$4 billion in profit before tax to the Group in 2009.

Commenting on the appointment, Sandy Flockhart said: “HSBC’s presence on both sides of most of the world’s trade and investment flows means we have a compelling proposition for companies operating across borders.

“Alan has a tremendous understanding of business gained from 19 years’ experience in commercial banking. He will work across the business to unlock the full potential of our unrivalled network and international connectivity for the benefit of our customers.”

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HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,000 offices in 87 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,418 billion at 30 June 2010, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’.