KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd's chief executive officer (CEO) Stuart Milne will retire on March 31, 2022, according to an internal memo sighted by theedgemarkets.com today.

In the internal memo, HSBC Malaysia commended Milne's service to the bank, citing his significant contribution to the growth of the banking group.

"We have begun an internal and external recruitment process to select Stuart's replacement and will make a further announcement in due course," the memo added.

When contacted about this, HSBC Malaysia confirmed that Milne "is retiring after more than 40 years of commitment to the business during which time he contributed significantly to the company's growth and achieved great success for the organisation".

Milne was appointed as HSBC Malaysia CEO on May 24, 2018, when he succeeded Mukhtar Hussain.

"For the past three-and-a-half years he has led our Malaysian operations, winning awards as the leading international bank and as well as digital bank of the year.

"Stuart's commitment to these markets extends beyond our own business. Most recently he championed the development of industry environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards under the aegis of the Association of Banks in Malaysia, of which he is a council member," noted the internal memo.

Prior to taking on the CEO role in Malaysia, Milne served as HSBC Bank India CEO.

The memo noted that Milne joined the HSBC Group as an International Manager trainee in 1981 and over the past four decades, he has worked across businesses and markets, including in France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Middle East, the Philippines and the US.