Geoghegan

"Asian governments have been preparing for the slowdown for over a year, " Mr Geoghegan said.

Michael Geoghegan is to step down as chief executive of HSBC at the end of the year, according to two people close to the bank's board.

If Mr Geoghegan did not make a suitable chairman, someone forgot to let him know.

Mr Flint is the bank's finance director and reports to Mr Geoghegan; that role reversal would have been uncomfortable.

Mike Geoghegan, chief executive, said the rise in UK insolvencies looked "unlikely to abate" in the medium term.

If Mr Geoghegan is to go, the well-travelled Stuart Gulliver has a strong claim on his position.

But Mr Geoghegan may not be ready to step back from the fray.

Michael Geoghegan, chief executive of HSBC, this week told the FT he was also sceptical about the risk of a property bubble.

Mr Geoghegan wants to be a gatekeeper to that change.

In practice, Mr Geoghegan's move is unlikely to affect the way the bank is run.

UPDATED with HSBC's confirmation of Mr Geoghegan's departure and the appointment of a new chief executive and chairman.

One option is to promote Mr Geoghegan to chairman, with Stuart Gulliver, the boss of HSBC's investment bank, replacing him.

Geoghegan's research initially aims to discover where bovine TB occurs in domestic livestock around South African wildlife parks.

"We are reviewing our position with [BoCom] management, " Michael Geoghegan, HSBC group chief executive, said.

Stuart Gulliver, head of investment banking, will be Mr Geoghegan's successor as chief executive.

However, a hurdle to Mr. Geoghegan getting the chairmanship is his current position as CEO.

The contemplative Mr Green and the restless Mr Geoghegan seemed to balance each other out.

But though nervous about the backdrop, Geoghegan is viewing the world from a position of strength.

Mr Geoghegan will also now be in charge of strategy.

Mr. Geoghegan has held a number of roles around the world and recently moved to Hong Kong as a way to emphasize the bank's Asia focus.

Whatever the sum, say Mr Geoghegan, "the money will stay in China. "

"Once we have the answers to our questions, " says Geoghegan, "we can start education programmes to control any spread of the disease" .

He will report to HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan and sit on a 10-strong group management board.

Mr Green will cede responsibility for group strategy to Mr Geoghegan, though he will remain executive chairman.

HSBC Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan moved to Hong Kong earlier this year to be in the bank's key region.

Geoghegan, 56, replaced Green as CEO in 2006.

Should Mr. Geoghegan be promoted, it would leave open the office of CEO at HSBC.

It is this close cultural and physical link with cattle, says Geoghegan, that puts rural communities at risk of infection.

HSBC announced last month that it is relocating its chief executive Michael Geoghegan from London to Hong Kong.

Last year, the bank's chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, relocated to Hong Kong in a sign of the region's importance.

HSBC said in September that its chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, was moving to Hong Kong from London.

He is following Michael Geoghegan, HSBC's chief executive, who has already announced he is moving from London to Hong Kong.

Chief executive Michael Geoghegan's relocation to Hong Kong next February is a big step.

Mr Green changed that last year by handing more control to Michael Geoghegan, the chief executive, who is based in Hong Kong.