HSBC boss defends move to freeze accounts of fugitive ex-lawmaker Ted Hui, tells British MPs bank is committed to Hong Kong
- CEO Noel Quinn tells Foreign Affairs Committee the bank was legally obliged to take action on accounts after being notified by Hong Kong police
- Quinn also says bank has never considered moving out of Hong Kong, which it has served for more than 150 years, despite new geopolitical challenges
At a meeting of the British parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday afternoon, CEO Noel Quinn defended HSBC’s earlier controversial move to freeze the account of fugitive former opposition lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung and his family members, insisting the bank was legally obliged to take action after being notified by Hong Kong police.
“We do not make freezing decisions based on political affiliation or activity,” Quinn said in his opening remarks. “It’s because we are obliged to, under request of police authorities, as they undertake their investigations.”
Quinn emphasised that the London-based bank had only been in dialogue with local police and no other Chinese authorities, and that HSBC would be committing a criminal offence if it did not follow the order, which could put the institution and its customers at risk.
He also insisted it would be of no benefit for the bank to walk away from Hong Kong despite what the politicians called a worsening political climate in the city.
“I am not in Hong Kong purely because of the profit,” Quinn said. “It’s not a matter for me whether I choose China over the UK or China over another political system. My motive is 100 per cent about helping people in Hong Kong recover from the challenges they face, and I have to work within the legal framework I’m given in Hong Kong.”