Stuart Nivison, HSBC’s global head of client network banking, has left the bank ahead of a planned restructure, to be announced upon the release of its annual results later this month.

Nivison joined HSBC in 1989, and has held numerous roles in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including four years as head of trade for Europe, and two years as global head of business banking before taking on his most recent post in 2016.

GTR has learned that Nivison left the bank before Christmas. Nivison is yet to announce his next career move, saying via LinkedIn that he intends to “do some travelling and spend some time with friends and family”, while thinking about what he wants to do next.

This development comes ahead of what are expected to be wide-ranging job cuts at HSBC as interim chief executive Noel Quinn seeks to focus on profitability and streamline the bank’s operations. Following a lacklustre set of results in Q3 last year, Quinn said in an earnings call: “Having a strong presence in both continental Europe and the US is important, but we need to reshape our presence in both. It is now clear that our previous plans for both businesses are no longer sufficient, given the softer revenue outlook that we now face,” adding that the bank will remodel its organisational structure to “remove complexity and reduce costs”.

Sources close to the matter tell GTR that further senior executive departures are expected, with some said to be in the process of negotiating the terms of their exit from the bank. As yet, few moves have been made public, and until HSBC provides confirmation of its new structure on February 18, it remains to be seen to what extent the bank’s trade business will be affected.