HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn is facing pressure from senior politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to explain why the bank has denied some Hong Kong expatriates access to their retirement funds.
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn is facing pressure from senior politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to explain why the bank has denied some Hong Kong expatriates access to their retirement funds.
Mike Gallagher, chairman of the US Congress Select Committee on China, and Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee, raised “deep concerns” about the situation in a letter sent to Quinn on Friday.
The London-based bank has barred Hong Kongers who have quit the Chinese city from using newly-granted British citizenship documents to draw down money held in the Mandatory Provident Fund.
The committees “both feel very strongly about protecting the legitimate rights of Hong Kong residents and opposing any attempts to undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong,” wrote the politicians. The Financial Times reported the letter earlier.
The lawmakers said HSBC sided with China after the country derecognized British National Overseas passports, which the UK offered to Hong Kongers who wished to leave following Beijing’s sweeping national security law. The bank has said these documents aren’t valid proof that customers with MPF accounts had left the former UK colony.
“We follow the regulator’s requirements for processing applications related to early withdrawal of accrued benefits by MPF scheme members,” said a spokeswoman for HSBC.
“In the case of permanent departure, scheme members are required to provide evidence of the right of abode outside of Hong Kong. The MPFA has published guidance as to what evidence scheme members may rely on and, like all banks, we have to obey the law and the instructions of the regulators,” the spokeswoman said.
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