SENIOR executive Stuart Haire is stepping down from his role at HSBC to become the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the Skipton Building Society.

Haire, group general manager and chief executive of the London-listed banking giant's UK personal and private banking businesses, is quitting in an unexpected move to run the Skipton Building Society, one of Britain's biggest financial mutuals, Sky News first reported.

The announcement of Haire's appointment could be made as early as today.

Haire has worked at HSBC for six years, with his previous experience being mostly in senior roles at Royal Bank of Scotland and Big Four accountancy firm KPMG.

At the Skipton, he will replace David Cutter, who stepped down as CEO after 13 years.

Ian Cornelius was appointed as interim chief in April.

The move comes after HSBC in May suspended its global head of responsible investing Stuart Kirk after he questioned the need for investors to worry about climate change and asked "who cares if Miami is six metres under water in 100 years?", claiming that central bankers were overstating climate risks in an attempt to "outhyperbole the next guy".

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper