John Thornton, the HSBC non-executive who was overlooked when the bank selected its new chairman last week, is set to step down from the board within six months, dealing a blow to the group’s ambitions for growth in China.

When HSBC confirmed the appointment of finance director Douglas Flint as chairman and Stuart Gulliver as chief executive in place of Michael Geoghegan late on Friday, the bank said Mr Thornton – who had been widely seen as the favourite to replace outgoing chairman Stephen Green – would remain on the board.

But Mr Thornton, a former Goldman Sachs executive who has close ties to senior political and business leaders in China, has told associates that he plans to step down by the spring, when board members are due to stand for re-election, unless the board convinces him that it will attach more importance to China.