HSBC Bank of Bermuda has undergone some big changes since CEO Philip Butterfield took over at the helm six years ago.

The bank has gone from being the local Bank of Bermuda to becoming a major global player as part of the HSBC group.

But possibly one of the most significant moves it has made for the future is the appointment of Richard Moseley as deputy CEO.

Mr. Moseley, who has been with the HSBC group for the past 30 years, has worked in the bank's head office in London, France, Scandinavia, Jersey, Guernsey and the Cayman Island, and, most recently, running its North American business planning and strategic positioning.

"I think tremendous progression has been made with aligning and integrating the business with the rest of the Group," Mr. Moseley said.

"We are committed to the Island and our belief is that having the name HSBC is good for the Island as well.

"In Bermuda our focus is much more in terms of how do we bring products that we see elsewhere in the world to the Bermuda market.

"It is about having a deep understanding on the ground of what customers expect today and what they want in the future."

Mr. Moseley, who has extensive experience in the banking sector relevant to the bank's operation on the Island, has done everything from looking after global and transaction banking, cards and security services, which he believes will stand him in good stead for aspects of the business such as premier banking for the more wealthy customers and appreciating and serving their needs better.

His main task in hand will be to focus on the specific customer groups from personal and professional clients to financial institutions and large corporations and produce and deliver the products tailored to their requirements.

"My job in the business is really to focus on driving forward those customer groups and issue products that we think are relevant to those specific groups," he said.

Mr. Butterfield, who believes that HSBC Bank of Bermuda has much greater scope to offer more products and services and take on new business now than it did at the time of the takeover said that Mr. Moseley's CV really spoke for itself and the combination of their local knowledge with HSBC's global capacity would enable them to improve its market share, in an interview with The Royal Gazette yesterday.

He said that there were no longer any jurisdictions that stood on their own or had been unaffected by the global financial crisis in today's interconnected world and HSBC had proved the advantages of operating in 86 different countries, coming out of the downturn in relatively good shape and still well-respected.

"We have come a long way in a short period of time and I think it has been an incredible success story," he said.

"If you look back to the profile of the bank in 2004, the products and services that we made available to our customers, the skill-set and experience of the staff and the benefit that the bank offered to the jurisdiction, in all three of those areas has been a great success and the capacity is now much greater than it was in 2004.

"For example, in 2004 we had a corporate money fund that was worth $3.5 billion and now it is four times as large, and we didn't have an asset management business in 2004, but we have one today."

The takeover has also afforded the opportunity to send young Bermudians working at the bank to HSBC's Bricket Wood Training Centre in the UK, as well as secondments to the US, UK and the Cayman Islands and short-term attachments across the Group, including the global servicing centres in India and Malaysia, thus improving their knowledge and skills and in turn further their own careers.

Meanwhile, in return HSBC Bank of Bermuda's input has been valued by leaders worldwide, from providing advice to Bermuda's Government to guidance for the Cayman government on its most recent bond issue.

"One of the reasons that I left Bermuda many years ago was to look for the opportunity to acquire the right set of skills to make me more capable of serving the needs of the customers," said Mr. Butterfield. At the time, it was not possible here, but now a person leaving university can join a global enterprise that offers that at HSBC Bank of Bermuda."

Mr. Butterfield has also overseen the bank's change of name from the Bank of Bermuda to HSBC Bermuda the first in its 120-plus year history, said customers had been expecting the change and had been pleasantly surprised with the end product, despite the legal name change and complete rebrand being effected in May 2010.

"They would use the two names very interchangeably and it was always a case of when and no if it would happen," he said.

As far as the staffing side of the business goes, Mr. Butterfield foresees a reallocation of resources instead of an increase in recruitment to make the business more effective and efficient, for example, when the bank outsourced its 24/7 call centre to Canada in August 2008, and with the launch of an accreditation programme (which was taken up by 38 percent of the staff in 2009), he believes employees will be able to identify which part of the business they should be involved in and hone their expertise to those particular areas.

"I think it is important for every person in the 21st century to take a positive attitude to continued learning in order to grow personally and professionally and if you apply that same principle to your work then you will be successful," he said.

Mr. Moseley, who has been in the post since early January, effectively takes over the role of HSBC Bank of Bermuda's head of banking Ashley Parker when he leaves to assume a new role overseeing the Group's operations in New York, in addition to private banking and security services duties, more geared towards boosting the revenue side of the business.