HSBC has announced the appointment of David Walker as its new executive in charge of credit cards management. Mr. Walker joined HSBC in 1995 from NAB and has held multiple management positions, including strategy and operations for global investments, mortgage management, and a regional sales and service position.

Also at this time, Alice Del Vecchio is taking the reins of the mortgage division, having held a similar position with Aussie Group after serving various positions with Westpac. Ms. Del Vecchio has two decades of financial banking and services experience.

Credit cards and mortgages are two sectors of consumer lending HSBC seeks to grow, and Mr. Walker and Ms. Del Vecchio are central elements to the bank’s strategy, said Graham Heunis, head of HSBC Australia’s personal financial services division.

“HSBC’s retail banking strategy is focused on bringing the best of HSBC’s international products and services to the Australian market and establishing main-bank relationships with customers holding multiple products,” said Mr. Heunis. “Credit cards and mortgages are central to this strategy.

He continued, “We are growing our credit cards business in Australia directly, as well as through third-party retail alliances. HSBC’s credit card receivables increased by 18.5% in the first half of 2010, double the rate of the overall credit card market, and we are focused on continuing this growth. Our advantage in this sector comes from the Group’s global experience and scale in credit cards (100 million customers worldwide) which allow us to drive efficiencies through common systems and propositions.”

Mr. Walker’s predecessor in the credit cards management role was Keith Lewis, who will now manage sales and services for the personal financial services division.

Source: http://www.hsbc.com.au