YEREVAN, September 8, /ARKA/. A prominent British banker Stephen Green, the chairman of HSBC Holdings plc, will resign to accept the offer of Prime Minister David Cameron to take up as U.K. trade and investments minister in 2011 January, the HSBC Bank said.

"With Stephen's experience and expertise, I know he will make an invaluable contribution towards this crucial agenda, helping to drive strong economic growth in the U.K.," prime minister Cameron was quoted as saying.

Green will become Minister of State for Trade and Investment early next year and will take up his position in the House of Lords in due course, the prime minister's office said. Green said he was honored to accept the job, which has been vacant since May's general election.

Green, a vocal advocate for responsible bank behavior, has been chairman of the bank since 2006 and had previously been chief executive from 2003 to 2006, having joined HSBC in 1982.

The bank's non-executive directors said they have been working on the chairman's succession for some months, including having appointed external advisers. The directors said their intention has always been to approve Green's successor before the end of the year, and that timetable remains on schedule.

‘In an increasingly competitive and international world, trade and investment are ever more critical to Britain's economic success and I am delighted to be joining the government at this exciting and challenging time," Stephen Green was quoted as saying.

HSBC said in a regulatory statement that Green will step down as chairman before the end of the year.
Green's appointment was welcomed by business groups, with the Confederation of British Industry and the British Bankers' Association (BBA) saying he ideally suited for the role.

"Stephen has a deservedly strong reputation as a skilled business leader both in the U.K. and internationally and he is just the right man to demonstrate to our overseas partners that the U.K. is a global business center and an excellent base from which to operate," the BBA said.  -0-