So it’s been announced officially. After a week of media speculation, HSBC is holding a conference call late on Friday to announce the change at the top. And as expected, Douglas Flint is indeed to replace Stephen Green as chairman of HSBC, while Michael Geoghegan, who admitted he was "no good at politics," is to step down as chief executive.

Stuart Gulliver replaces Geoghegan as chief executive, while global banking and markets will be run by Samir Assaf, head of global markets, and Robin Phillips, head of global banking, as a team.