The CEO of the HSBC Group arrived on the Island yesterday to have a look at his bank's latest acquisition ? the Bank of Bermuda.

The multinational banking giant's purchase of the bank was overwhelmingly approved by Bank of Bermuda shareholders at a special general meeting on Monday afternoon. The deal is slated to close today.

CEO Stephen Green's visit to the Island marks the second trip to Bermuda this month by a top HSBC executive. Early in February, chairman Sir John Bond was here to meet with key bank stakeholders.

Mr. Green is joined on his trip to Bermuda by HSBC group general manager Iain Stewart, who was on the Island last October for the announcement of the bank's plans to sell out to HSBC.

Both HSBC executives will reportedly be in board meetings today, and at a Press conference this afternoon to formally announce the Bank of Bermuda's amalgamation with HSBC.

At the Press conference, Mr. Green, Mr. Stewart, bank CEO Henry Smith and COO Philip Butterfield will formally announce the bank's amalgamation with HSBC as well as details of its integration into the HSBC network, rebranding and management and board appointments.

Under the terms of the $1.3 billion sale, the Bank of Bermuda ? which should retain its name for at least five years ? becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Plc, the world's second largest bank by market capitalisation. Shareholders are being paid $45 per share in the deal, with the bank saying it would start sending out cheques to investors on Friday.

Mr. Green, 54, also sits on HSBC's board of directors. And he will reportedly join the Bank of Bermuda board, while the rest of the bank's directors will remain as is. He was appointed to the post of group chief executive in May, 2003. Prior to that he was executive director, Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets from 1998. He joined HSBC in 1982, and served as group treasurer from 1992. He is also chairman of HSBC Investment Bank Holdings plc, deputy chairman of HSBC Bank plc and a director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, CCF S.A., HSBC Guyerzeller Bank AG, HSBC USA Inc., HSBC Bank USA, HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse) S.A. and HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt KGaA.

The sale of the Island's largest bank, which is also the largest private employer, to a bank that operates in now 80 countries around the world, has raised many questions. There are concerns about jobs, with "significant" job redundancies slated for the bank's 1,183 local staff. In total, the bank has said that up to 250 jobs could be cut over the next three years, although management reported that some of the redundancies would be achieved through natural attrition and where possible, job transfers.

But there are also fears that that number could grow with HSBC having a track record of outsourcing jobs to lower cost countries.

In a speech given in December to the Windsor Leadership Trust, Mr. Green spoke about creating a business that builds on cultural and economic diversity. As part of that, he spoke of the growing trend to outsource jobs.

"We have over 7,000 colleagues in service centres in India, Malaysia and China, providing a range of services ? payments, processing, credit approvals, call centres and so on ? to customers in the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Australia and elsewhere."

However, during his visit to Bermuda, Sir John shot down that fear by saying he did not see the outsourcing of local jobs as being an issue, and that HSBC actually intended to move some business, including its trust division, to the Island.

As the Island's largest bank, and with a history of serving local customers for 114 years, many also fear losing the Bank of Bermuda identity. HSBC has committed to keeping the bank's name, but is only legally bound to do so for five years, and it is to be immediately rebranded with the HSBC hexagon logo. But Sir John also dispelled concerns on this front by saying the name would only shift if constituents wished it, and he could not see locals agreeing to a name change.