Board of Directors

S K Green, Group Chairman
Age 58. An executive Director since 1998; Group Chief Executive from 2003 to May 2006. Joined HSBC in 1982. Chairman of HSBC Bank plc, HSBC North America Holdings Inc. and HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse) SA. A Director of HSBC France and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Group Treasurer from 1992 to 1998. Executive Director, Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets from 1998 to 2003. Chairman of The British Bankers' Association.

*The Baroness Dunn, DBE, Deputy Chairman
Age 67. An executive Director of John Swire & Sons Limited and a Director of Swire Pacific Limited. A non-executive Director since 1990 and a non-executive Deputy Chairman since 1992. A member of the Nomination Committee. A non-executive Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited from 1981 to 1996. A Patron of the UK Foundation of the University of British Columbia, a registered charity. A member of The Hong Kong Association and the Asia Task Force. A former Senior Member of the Hong Kong Executive Council and Legislative Council.

*Sir Brian Moffat, OBE, Deputy Chairman
Age 68. A non-executive Director since 1998 and a non-executive Deputy Chairman since 2001. A member of the Nomination Committee. Senior independent non-executive Director until the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 25 May 2007. A non-executive Director of Macsteel Global BV. Former Chairman of Corus Group plc and a former member of the Court of the Bank of England.

M F Geoghegan, CBE, Group Chief Executive
Age 53. An executive Director since 2004. Joined HSBC in 1973. Chairman of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., HSBC USA Inc. and HSBC Bank Canada. Deputy Chairman of HSBC Bank plc. A Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC France, HSBC North America Holdings Inc. and HSBC National Bank USA. President of HSBC Bank Brasil S.A.-Banco Múltiplo from 1997 to 2003 and responsible for all of HSBC's business throughout South America from 2000 to 2003. Chief Executive of HSBC Bank plc from 2004 to March 2006. A non-executive Director and Chairman of Young Enterprise.

*The Rt Hon the Lord Butler of Brockwell, KG, GCB, CVO
Age 69. Master, University College, Oxford. A non-executive Director since 1998. Chairman of the Corporate Sustainability Committee and the HSBC Global Education Trust. A non-executive Director of Imperial Chemical Industries plc. A member of the International Advisory Board of Marsh McLennan Inc. Chaired the UK Government Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2004. Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service in the United Kingdom from 1988 to 1998.

V H C Cheng, OBE, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Age 59. An executive Director of HSBC Holdings plc since 1 February 2008. Chairman of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited and HSBC Investments (Hong Kong) Limited and a Director of HSBC Bank Australia Limited. Joined HSBC in 1978. Appointed a Group General Manager in 1995 and a Group Managing Director in 2005. A Director of Great Eagle Holdings Limited and a Member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hang Seng Bank Limited from 1998 to 2005. A Director of Swire Pacific Limited from 2005 to January 2008. A Member of the Hong Kong Government's highest policy-making body, the Executive Council, from 1995 to 1997.

†J D Coombe
Age 62. Chairman of Hogg Robinson plc. A non-executive Director since 2005. A member of the Group Audit Committee and of the Remuneration Committee. A non-executive Director of Home Retail Group plc and a member of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG. A trustee of the Royal Academy Trust. Former executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of GlaxoSmithKline plc. A former Chairman of The Hundred Group of Finance Directors and a former member of the Accounting Standards Board.

†J L Durán
Age 43. Chief Executive of Carrefour SA and Chairman of its Management Board of Directors. A non-executive Director since 1 January 2008. Joined Carrefour SA in 1991. Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director, Organisation and Systems of Carrefour SA from 2001 to 2005.

†R A Fairhead
Age 45. Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Financial Times Group Limited and a Director of Pearson plc. A non-executive Director since 2004. Chairman of the Group Audit Committee. A non-executive Director of The Economist Newspaper Limited. Finance Director of Pearson plc from 2002 to June 2006. Former Executive Vice President, Strategy and Group Control of Imperial Chemical Industries plc.

D J Flint, CBE, Group Finance Director
Age 52. Joined HSBC as an executive Director in 1995. Non-executive Chairman of HSBC Finance Corporation. A non-executive Director of BP p.l.c. and a member of the Consultative Committee of the Large Business Advisory Board of HM Revenue & Customs. Chaired the Financial Reporting Council's review of the Turnbull Guidance on Internal Control. Served on the Accounting Standards Board and the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board from 2001 to 2004. A former partner in KPMG.

*W K L Fung, OBE
Age 58. Group Managing Director of Li & Fung Limited. A non-executive Director since 1998. A member of the Corporate Sustainability Committee. Deputy Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. A non-executive Director of CLP Holdings Limited, Integrated Distribution Services Group Limited, Convenience Retail Asia Limited, Shui On Land Limited and VTech Holdings Limited. A member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. A former non-executive Director of Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. Former Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong Exporters' Association and the Pacific Economic Co-operation Committee.

†J W J Hughes-Hallett
Age 57. Chairman of John Swire & Sons Limited. A non-executive Director since 2005. A member of the Group Audit Committee and of the Nomination Committee. A non-executive Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited from 1999 to 2004. A non-executive Director and formerly Chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited and Swire Pacific Limited. A Director of China Festival 2008. A trustee of the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. A member of The Hong Kong Association and of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

†W S H Laidlaw
Age 51. Chief Executive Officer of Centrica plc. A non-executive Director since 1 January 2008. A Trustee of RAFT, a medical charity for burns and reconstructive surgery. A member of the Business Council for International Understanding. President and Chief Operating Officer of Amerada Hess Corporation from 1995 to 2001. Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Oil plc from 2001 to 2002. Executive Vice President of Chevron Corporation from 2003 to 2006, and a non-executive Director of Hanson PLC from 2003 to August 2007.

†Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, KCMG
Age 66. Chairman of Anglo American plc. A non-executive Director since 2001. Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Corporate Sustainability Committee. A non-executive Director of Accenture Limited, a Governor of Nuffield Hospitals and President of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Chairman of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS and the Global Compact Foundation. A former Director and Chairman of The ‘Shell' Transport and Trading Company, plc and former Chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies.

†G Morgan
Age 61. A non-executive Director since October 2006. A member of the Remuneration Committee. Non-executive Chairman of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. A member of the Board of Trustees of The Fraser Institute and the Energy Advisory Board of Accenture Limited. A non-executive Director of HSBC Bank Canada from 1996 to April 2006. Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of EnCana Corporation until December 2005 and Vice Chairman from December 2005 to October 2006. A former Director of Alcan Inc.

†S W Newton
Age 65. Chairman of The Real Return Group Limited. A non-executive Director since 2002. A member of the Group Audit Committee. A Member of the Advisory Board of the East Asia Institute and of the Investment Board at Cambridge University. A Member of The Wellcome Trust Investment Committee. Founder of Newton Investment Management, from which he retired in 2002.

† S M Robertson Senior independent non-executive Director
Age 66. Non-executive Chairman of Rolls-Royce Group plc and the founder member of Simon Robertson Associates LLP. A non-executive Director since January 2006 and senior independent non-executive Director since 25 May 2007. A Member of the Nomination Committee. A non-executive Director of Berry Bros. & Rudd Limited, The Economist Newspaper Limited and The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Limited. Chairman of Trustees of the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust. A trustee of the Eden Project and of the Royal Opera House Endowment Fund. A former Managing Director of Goldman Sachs International. Former Chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and a former non-executive Director of Inchcape plc, Invensys plc and the London Stock Exchange plc.

†Sir Brian Williamson, CBE
Age 62. Chairman of Electra Private Equity plc. A non-executive Director since 2002. Chairman of the Nomination Committee. A non-executive Director of NYSE Euronext and a Director of Resolution plc. A senior adviser to Fleming Family and Partners. Former Chairman of London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, Gerrard Group plc and Resolution Life Group Limited. A former non-executive Director of the Financial Services Authority and of the Court of The Bank of Ireland.

D J Shaw, Adviser to the Board
Age 61. An Adviser to the Board since 1998. Solicitor. A partner in Norton Rose from 1973 to 1998. A Director of The Bank of Bermuda Limited and HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse) SA. A non-executive Director of Kowloon development Company Limited and Shui On Land Limited.

R G Barber, Secretary
Age 56. Group Company Secretary. A Group General Manager since October 2006. Joined HSBC in 1980. Company Secretary of HSBC Holdings plc since 1990. Corporation Secretary of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited from 1986 to 1992 and Company Secretary of HSBC Bank plc from 1994 to 1996.