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Business HSBC Taps New Upstate Chief

Cronin to relocate from Chicago

By Jonathan D. Epstein

September 16, 2010
 

HSBC Bank USA has named an Irishman from its Chicago operations as head of its commercial banking for upstate New York and co-president for Buffalo, succeeding an Amherst native who moved on to an international post with HSBC in Germany.

HSBC said Wednesday it had appointed Paul Cronin as executive vice president and regional president for commercial banking for upstate New York and the Midwest region.

He replaces Joseph Saffire, a member of the bank’s International Managers program, who had returned to Western New York two years ago and was just named chief operating officer for corporate banking for HSBC’s German subsidiary, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt in Dusseldorf.

In his new role, Cronin will be responsible for managing a team of commercial bankers serving Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, the mid-Hudson area and the Midwest, including Chicago. The bank’s middle-market business targets clients with sales between $10 million and $5 billion, and serves both their domestic and international needs using HSBC’s global reach.

Cronin, 45, will report to Christopher P. Davies, the bank’s senior executive vice president and head of commercial banking for North America. He will also relocate to Buffalo from Chicago.

“Paul and his team will look to further deepen our presence in these markets by providing a wide range of domestic and international commercial banking products and services,” Davies said in a news release announcing the appointment.

Cronin joined HSBC in 2008 as senior vice president and regional commercial executive for the Midwest. The 20-year veteran of international and U. S. banking previously was head of mid-corporate banking for Chicago at RBS Citizens. Prior to that, he held posts at LaSalle Bank in Chicago and earlier at its Dutch parent, ABN Amro, for a decade.

HSBC is one of the largest banks in New York State, with more than 12,000 employees, including 6,000 in Western New York. It’s also one of the largest banks in the country, with $187 billion in assets, and is part of London-based HSBC Holdings Plc, a$2.36 trillion-asset bank with more than 8,000 offices in 88 countries and territories worldwide.