HSBC draws into Hong Kong’s anti-government protests as protestors vandalize its branches in Hong Kong

One of the leading banks of Hong Kong, HSBC, has been swooped into the country’s political turmoil as the anti-government protestors vandalized a few of its countrywide branches and daubed graffiti on the two lion statues at the entrance of its headquarters.

In 2019’s first half, HSBC generated over 50% of its pre-tax profit of $12.5 billion from Hong Kong, marking the country as its most valuable market for business. With anti-government protests increasingly hurting Hong Kong’s economic growth and fueling the risk of recession, however, experts anticipate a significant financial loss for HSBC and its associations.

HSBC Draws Attention As Protestors Accuse It Of Siding With The Authorities

The frequently-violent, anti-government protests have gone on for more than six months in Hong Kong. Despite other entities known for having ties with Beijing having their premises vandalized, HSBC had managed to avoid direct involvement so far. Only recently, the Bank of China in Hong Kong made the news as it came under attack from the protestors. The Bank of China is Hong Kong’s second-largest bank after HSBC.  

But recently, HSBC drew attention as some protesters accused the bank of siding with the government authorities against protestors who were trying to raise money to finance their campaign.

The accusation comes as HSBC closed Spark Alliance’s account with the bank. Spark Alliance is a prominent group known to financially support the protestors in Hong Kong. The bank closed the account in November while a few of the top members of the group were also arrested in December and charged with money laundering.

While HSBC has been actively denying all claims of its involvement, according to the protestors, their rage is derived from an understanding that HSBC is the reason why they have stopped receiving the required financing. In response, HSBC highlighted that closure of Spark Alliance’s account with the bank was only to comply with the international regulatory standards and HSBC did not have any ulterior motive behind the move.

The bank further reiterated that it had nothing to do with the arrest of Spark Alliance’s members in December.

HSBC Enters 2020 With Two Of Its Branches In Hong Kong And Seven ATM Clusters Closed

HSBC has started 2020 on the wrong foot with two of its branches in Hong Kong and as many as seven ATM clusters closed on Thursday. Some of the damage came from Christmas Eve’s anti-government protests while the rest was announced after the New Year’s protest. The protestors were reported to have smashed through the bank’s windows, daub graffiti over its lion statues and set them on fire with the use of flammable liquid.

The bank said that the restoration process has begun, however, it will take some time.