London, April 23, 2026, 15:26 BST
HSBC Holdings Plc is bringing in James Willis, an executive director from JPMorgan, to head up global precious metals sales, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The hire marks the bank’s second major metals appointment this month and comes as London’s bullion market sees broader personnel changes.
This stands out: HSBC continues to streamline operations and slash expenses, even as further job cuts loom. Yet metals hiring signals the bank isn’t shying away from selective investment.
HSBC, JPMorgan, ICBC Standard Bank, and UBS are some of the banks quoting prices and handling settlements in London’s over-the-counter (OTC) gold market—where trades happen directly, outside of exchanges. The London Bullion Market Association reports that over 20 million ounces of gold move through clearing each day.
Willis is coming in after Mark Augustynak, a metals trader from ICBC Standard Bank, who was hired earlier this month to take the reins of HSBC’s global metals trading group. Reuters has it that Augustynak should start around mid-2026, filling the spot left by Vincent Domien, who exited HSBC late last year.
The sense of urgency in the market is hard to miss. According to World Gold Council figures, gold trading volumes surged to a record $965 billion per day by late January, holding strong at $525 billion daily in March. Independent analyst Ross Norman summed it up earlier this year: “the only certainty at the moment seems to be uncertainty.” World Gold Council
HSBC is pitching the wider restructuring as targeted, not sweeping. Back in February, when the lender raised its medium-term profit goal, Chief Executive Georges Elhedery described HSBC as “a simple, more agile, focused bank.” Then, just a month on, he told investors that the company’s largest new-technology investment was flowing into generative AI. Reuters
A quick check on that strategy is coming up. HSBC plans to report first-quarter numbers on May 5 and is weighing a first interim dividend for 2026. If the board gives the green light, shareholders on record by May 15 would see payment on June 26.
HSBC shares slipped 0.9% on Thursday, caught in the market’s downturn. Barclays fared worse, dropping 2.1%. Oil prices stayed north of $100 a barrel, and with U.S.-Iran negotiations looking unlikely, the FTSE 100 headed lower.
A slackening in gold prices could dampen London’s hiring momentum. Spot gold slipped 0.9% to $4,696.71 an ounce on Thursday, pressured by a firmer dollar and rising bond yields. Still, Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen called the drop “more a pause driven by rate uncertainty” than anything fundamental shifting. Reuters
HSBC isn’t betting on a straight shot higher. Back in January, the bank floated a $5,000-an-ounce target for gold in the first half of 2026, but dialed back its average annual forecast and flagged the risk of a sharper pullback if either geopolitical tensions cool or U.S. rate cuts don’t materialize.
