How do people feel about HSBC supporting China's new Hong Kong national security law?

Thrugelmir

London7766551 said:

Thrugelmir said:

London7766551 said:

wmb194 said:

London7766551 said:

wmb194 said:

I couldn’t care less. China is an authoritarian, nominally communist state. You either toe the line or get your assets expropriated in one way or another. Hopefully in the future China will change but both HSBC, Standard Chartered and the companies that went into forming them as we know them today have seen centuries of change and laws that we’d now consider repulsive or unfair come and go. If feel you feel so strongly about this you should boycott anything made in China and every business that has any dealings there. Good luck.

What China does is up to China, I have no problem buying or using Chinese products in general, what gets my back up is HSBC (a UK based bank) is supporting the Chinese government over the British one. I do not think such a position is sustainable if it were to remain in the UK.

Albeit an extremely big bank, it’s just a bank. You shouldn’t expect so much of it. Its aim is survival and I don’t think for one minute that its position in Britain is now unsustainable. Why should it be? It’s not owned by the government and, just as we all can, it can agree or disagree as it pleases. Unlike China, Britain isn’t an authoritarian state. Which would you be more concerned about agreeing with? It won’t be long before this is all forgotten. If you have an issue with this law then you should have an issue with China.

Well, I have an issue with the law/China in regards to Hong Kong as a British person, but I can't blame China, I do blame HSBC for their position. I will be very disappointed if this is allowed to be forgotten. And I think HSBC's future may be unsuitable here, because it is very possible the west will turn away from China and many things related to it, if HSBC is more recognised as a Chinese bank rather than a British one, it is sure to cause it issues. Why would HSBC want the hassle? It is already apparent they don't make most of their money here, and they are already speaking about selling off various arms. I only hope people think with their feet and move away from this "British" bank.

The clue is in the name the Hongkong (&) Shanghai Banking Corporation.  

I say again, the bank is based in the UK, the name is irrelevant. And this has been mentioned twice already. Obtuse responses are a nice way to gloss over it I know but it doesn't change facts. HSBC is a British bank, based in the UK. It has gone "against" the UK, this is an issue not just for us, but in time will be for them. The further Hong Kong drifts away, the further China moves to the edges, so too will western cash.

HSBC is a global bank. With a brass plate in London. There's the nature of many global companies. Take a look at the HSBC board, more connected with China than you might imagine. 

London7766551

I am going to stick with HSBC until my saver expires next year, I have a feeling the British arm will be offloaded but we will see.

wmb194

London7766551 said:

I am going to stick with HSBC until my saver expires next year, I have a feeling the British arm will be offloaded but we will see.

Highly doubtful but if you're desperate to leave, albeit with an interest penalty, most of HSBC's fixed term savings accounts with balances of less than £50,000 can be closed early.

gppp888

I've always found HSBC to be a terrible bank anyway from customer service to usability of their app, etc. I'm not sure 'the little people' will be missed if they close their accounts based on disagreeing with their support for China's laws.

onwards&upwards

Thrugelmir said:

Fighter1986 said:

pinkdalek said:

What next boycott anything made in China?  

TBH I decided this the second Covid-19 became a thing.

I'm never knowingly going to order anything from or made in China again. 

Shall we ask the Chinese to hand back all the football clubs they own, not eat pizza's at Pizza Express?  The Chinese are in far more places than you can possibly imagine. 

You're right, its very difficult if not impossible to actually boycott anything Chinese (and if everybody did so the ordinary Chinese people would certainly be the ones to suffer first).

Its also really difficult to boycott US owned businesses because of the way their leader behaves.

However, its not hard to swap to a different bank account, its really easy, and I think my conscience compels me to.   Just because you can't be 100% perfect all the time doesn't mean you shouldn't try to be as good as you can be.

qwert_yuiop

Anyone who votes brexit because they don’t want immigrants is in for a shock. Looks like European immigrants are about to be joined by a few million Hong kongers 

jonnygee2

I wouldn't bank with HSBC after this. Not that I had any plans to really.

eDicky

Regardless of where HSBC might be headquartered they have a gigantic presence in Hong Kong and no doubt would like to keep it. So in common with several other large corporations and banks, and the government of a country belittled by its divorce from the EU, the Chinese have them all by the balls. There will be no real reaction to the new security laws apart from words, and everyone who's anyone will kowtow to the new emperor in practice.

colsten

jasdev said:

Getting in before this dissolves into a quagmire of politics.

I switched my bank account this morning. I have been as happy as can be banking with first direct, their customer service has always been top notch. However, I explained to them that it was this that has led me to switch after nearly a decade.

To slightly respond to some of the comments above, yes, there is a lot going on in the world and yes, being 100% ethical is near-enough impossible. And of course, HSBC will likely not miss me.
But then that misses the point. To be ethical, baby steps are good. Do what you can. Recycle to the extent that you can, and don't make it painful on yourself. I boycott Amazon, Uber, and now HSBC, but that does not mean I must boycott every single organisation worldwide that is unethical in some way.

Don't you think it took you an awful long time to implement your ethics about HSBC, as you appear to have turned a blind eye on their various well-publicised scandals, such as the laundering of at least $881m for two of Latin America’s bloodiest drug cartels. 

[Deleted User]

spingoblin said:

Britain should never have occupied that part of China in the first place, it was never a democracy when Britain ruled it and for some reason we only introduced very limited local autonomy in the final years leading up to the handover in 1997. Up until those 'democratic' reforms were introduced by us we ruled Hong Kong with an iron fist from London with a 'yes man' Governor appointed by the UK govt. We wouldn't like it if China ruled an enclave of southern England and I doubt we would have tolerated a treaty with them allowing it for over a hundred years - and in any case if we did we would have marched in and taken it over by force long before that hundred years was up!
I have zero issues with HSBC and Standard Chartered protecting their privilaged financial interests in the territory. I also have no problems allowing the Hong Kong people a chance to come back here to their (Don't laugh back there) 'mother country' if any of them want to.

Can we sell or give them Southern England? 
I'm not sure the rest of the UK would care tbh.