(Reuters) – British bank HSBC Holdings said on Tuesday it would merge its commercial and investment banking businesses as part of a major restructuring that also sees the appointment of its first woman as director financial.

HSBC, which seeks to simplify its activities in Asia and reduce costs, will restructure around four business units and reduce the number of its senior executives.

This new governance, which includes the appointment of Pam Kaur as CFO, “will unlock our full potential and drive success into the future,” new CEO Georges Elhedery said in a memo to staff.

Effective January 1, 2025, the company will restructure its operations into four distinct business lines: Hong Kong, UK, investment banking and wealth management.

The new investment banking division will include commercial banking and wholesale banking activities, including Europe and the Americas region.

“The new structure will result in a simpler, more dynamic and more agile organization, as we focus on executing our strategic priorities, which remain unchanged,” Georges Elhedery said in a statement.

HSBC, which employs around 214,000 people worldwide, has for years been engaged in reducing its activities in Western markets such as the United States, France and Canada, to concentrate on Asia and markets where it already has a certain scale.

Pam Kaur, 60, currently director of risk and compliance at HSBC, joined the bank in April 2013 as head of group internal audit.

She has worked for several of the world’s largest banks, including Citigroup, where she was global director of compliance for consumer banking, and Deutsche Bank, where she was global head of group audit.

Jon Bingham, interim group chief financial officer, will return to his role as global financial controller, HSBC said.

(Written by Roushni Nairm, Elena Smirnova, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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