HSBC has removed the last vestige of the John Studzinski era by dropping the name of the division he tried to establish as a global force in mergers and acquisitions with a legion of expensive hires.

Studzinski joined from Morgan Stanley in 2003 as co-head of HSBC's corporate and investment banking division with five-year plan to establish the bank in the upper echelons of North American, European and Asian M&A.