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HSBC’s head of public affairs resigned just weeks after a public apology, saying the British government was “weak” for restricting dealings with China due to US pressure.
Sherard Cowper-Coles, the outspoken former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, will leave the bank next month, two people familiar with the matter said.
He apologized when he said at a private event in London last month that the UK should follow its own interests on China rather than simply accept the US position. Bloomberg first reported his departure.
Cowper-Coles, who is also chairman of the China-Britain Business Council lobby group, said last month that he made the remarks in a personal capacity. CBBC did not immediately respond to questions about whether he would continue in the role.
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker raised questions about Cowper-Coles’ conduct after his speech came to light, and the bank insisted on approval from Chief Executive Noel Quinn’s office, two people familiar with the matter said All subsequent travel and speaking engagements.
He has also been banned from attending this month’s Conservative and Labor conferences, the people added.
As geopolitical tensions rise, HSBC’s network across its dual bases in London and Hong Kong becomes increasingly unwieldy, and comments from one of its most senior figures who advise its chairman and CEO HSBC is in an awkward position.
The bank gets most of its funding from Hong Kong and China, but is headquartered in London and relies on the United States for a key U.S. dollar clearing license. Many Western companies are looking for ways to reduce investments in China, but HSBC has intensified its “pivot to Asia” in recent years, including moving senior executives from London to Hong Kong.
HSBC has also been resisting calls from its largest shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An, to split itself into eastern and western units to boost returns and help it manage Ping An Asset Management chairman Michael Huang. “Cross-border systemic business”. and geopolitical risks”.
Cowper-Coles’ controversial comments about Britain’s approach to China are not the only time he has been criticized in recent times.
mail on sunday report In August, Cowper-Coles allegedly told students at a dinner at Oxford University that “Arab minds are empty compared with the Chinese.” He told the newspaper that his comments were taken out of context and did not reflect the views of HSBC or CBBC.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, his diplomatic career has included postings in Israel and Afghanistan.
He is the second employee to leave HSBC in recent years over controversial comments. Last July, Stuart Kirk resigned as head of responsible investing at HSBC Asset Management after accusing policymakers of exaggerating the financial risks of climate change.
Kirk now writes an investing column for the Financial Times.
HSBC and Cowper Coles declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Eleanor Olcott in Hong Kong
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