HSBC has been accused of ‘shrugging its shoulders’ in the face of Chinese oppression.
The accusations came after boss Georges Elhedery played down concerns over the blocking of pension savings from British nationals who have fled Hong Kong.
The FTSE 100 lender is sitting on £978million of savings owed to tens of thousands now living in the UK after they escaped a crackdown on pro-democracy activists by China.
HSBC has refused to hand over the cash, which is held through a compulsory pension scheme known as the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), claiming a legal barrier prevents it from paying out the money.
This claim is disputed by campaigners and MPs. Asked about the issue, Elhedery said it was ‘a matter of law’.
‘Hong Kong legislation sets the conditions under which a member can withdraw their pension benefits under the MPF scheme,’ he said. ‘They’re not the discretion of the trustee, and all firms acting as trustees have really no discretion in this matter, and we’re one of these firms.’
Criticism: HSBC boss Georges Elhedery appeared to play down concerns over the blocking of pension savings from British nationals who have fled Hong Kong
Politicians criticised Elhedery, 50, who took over in September and was paid £5.4million in 2024.
Blair McDougall MP, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong, said: ‘These are British customers of a British bank who are being denied their life savings.
‘For the bank to shrug their shoulders and say there’s nothing they can do isn’t good enough. They should be challenging Beijing on behalf of their customers.’ ‘
Treasury committee member Bobby Dean MP said: ‘It is an absolute scandal that Hong Kongers living in Britain as British nationals are being denied access to money that is rightly theirs.’
HSBC, meanwhile, reported a better-than-expected pre-tax profit of £25.6billion for 2024, up from £24billion the previous year which it mainly attributed to profits from the sale of its banking business in Canada.
The bank also unveiled a £1.6billion share buyback for investors following a £7billion payout which began last year.
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