By Selena Li, Lawrence White and Sinead Cruise HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) -HSBC merged some operations and split its geographic footprint into East and West in a sweeping restructuring under new CEO Georges Elhedery that also included the appointment of the bank's first female finance chief.

HSBC said Tuesday that it would combine some of its commercial and investment banking operations in a major overhaul under its new CEO, which will see it cut costs while trying to improve returns.

HSBC's new boss has announced a major overhaul of the bank's structure, splitting geographically into eastern and western markets amid increasing geopolitical tensions and a need to cut costs. The bank said that it was simplifying operations by splitting into four key units,

As part of the re-organisation, HSBC also announced the first-ever female finance chief in the bank's 159-year history. Pam Kau, currently the chief risk and compliance officer, has worked for the bank for more than a decade.

HSBC has unveiled a significant restructuring of its business, which will see the global bank rearrange itself along geographical lines and under four operational units instead of the current three. The bank is simplifying its global structure,