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In a strategic move to strengthen its sustainability agenda, HSBC has appointed Natalie Blyth as Global Head of Sustainable Finance and Transition for its Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) division. The appointment is part of the bank’s broader push to integrate sustainability into its core commercial operations and enhance its compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks.
Blyth will oversee the consolidation of HSBC’s commercial banking and central global banking sustainability teams into a unified structure. Her mandate includes leading the development and execution of CIB’s sustainability strategy, ensuring alignment with the bank’s overall risk appetite, ESG commitments, and regulatory requirements. She will report directly to Danny Alexander, CEO of HSBC Infrastructure Finance and Sustainability, CIB.
The newly formed sustainable finance team will work across CIB product lines, banking functions, and client segments to support corporate clients in achieving their transition and sustainable finance goals. This move reflects HSBC’s ambition to commercialize its ESG operations and embed sustainable practices within mainstream financial services.
Blyth’s appointment comes in the wake of HSBC’s October restructuring, which saw the integration of its commercial and investment banking arms under CEO Georges Elhedery. The overhaul, aimed at increasing operational efficiency, may result in over 15,000 job cuts, representing up to 8% of the bank’s global workforce.
The bank has also undergone significant changes in its ESG strategy. These include downsizing its ESG financing and solutions teams, delaying its Scope 3 emissions targets by two decades, and revisiting its financed emissions goals for 2030. The decisions are influenced by external factors such as policy delays, limited government leadership, slow industrial decarbonization, and lagging demand for climate solutions.
With a career spanning three decades, Blyth brings extensive experience in investment banking, trade, sustainable finance, and client relationship management. Prior to this role, she led HSBC Commercial Banking’s global sustainability business and was instrumental in aligning ESG initiatives with commercial objectives.
She will join HSBC’s sustainability leadership team, which includes:
- Manav Futnani, Global Head of Export Finance
- James Dynon, Head of Infrastructure Finance for Asia and MENAT
- Patrick Prange, Head of Infrastructure Finance for Europe and the Americas
- Jonathan Neophytou, COO of HSBC Infrastructure Finance
The CIB division remains central to HSBC’s net-zero ambitions, even as the bank adjusts its approach to ESG goals in light of economic and regulatory complexities. With Blyth at the helm of its sustainable finance strategy, HSBC is positioning itself to navigate regulatory change, deliver ESG-aligned products, and provide clients with scalable RegTech solutions that support risk mitigation and compliance innovation in a fast-evolving market.
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