Departing HSBC chairman says 152-year-old bank needs to brace for wave of technological change

HSBC’s outgoing chairman Douglas Flint believes adapting to new technology will be among the major challenges ahead for the bank, noting that increased competition from new online lenders and the emergence of big data will force a structural change in the institution’s business model in the next five years.

He said banks need to reassess their approach to data privacy issues to keep pace with evolving trends in the financial sector.

“Technology will be the major challenge for HSBC over the next five years,” Flint said. “There will be a big debate about regulatory and privacy issues on how banks should protect and use customer data. The customer needs to be aware of how their data are shared and used when they are using social media and other internet services.”

Flint, however, also sounded a note of caution, pointing out that the rapid pace of technological change wasn’t without vulnerabilities. These included minor annoyances such as wifi outages to more serious issues such as cyber attacks that may put the bank’s computer network at risk.

He urged the next generation of management at the bank to be aware of the potential of technology failures in a world increasingly dominated by new internet technologies.