HSBC Has Removed References to the Ukraine War from Analyst Reports
Amid calls for the British bank to sever all ties with Russia as its war with Ukraine continues, HSBC has removed references to the war from its analyst reports.
According to The Financial Times, which first reported the story, “HSBC committees that review all external-published research and client communications have amended multiple reports to soften the language used on the subject.” These changes include, according to two people with knowledge on the matter, changing the word “war” to “conflict.”
These changes were not well received by some staff members, who have noted that HSBC’s decision contrasts with references to Russia’s “war” that rival banks, such as UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank, have already made. HSBC is under pressure to follow their lead and close its Russian operations, which currently employ about 200 people who serve multinational clients based outside the country.
According to an individual close to the bank, the issue is a sensitive one for the bank because its 200 Russian staff members are affected by a new law broadened by Russian authorities that criminalizes and exposes those who “knowingly” spread so-called false information about the war to government scrutiny. Those who violate the law face prison terms of up to 15 years. The law has allowed Russian authorities to gag journalists who counter the Kremlin’s narrative.
Although HSBC has declined to take on new Russian clients and refused to extend credit to existing ones, it has not announced plans to wind down its operations.
The news comes as British MPS continue to urge major banks to shutter their Moscow offices, saying that they have a moral imperative to wind down their operations and put more financial pressure on Moscow as Russia continues to contend with sanctions in response to the war that have dealt considerable damage to the nation’s economy.
“It’s not particularly shocking to see that major City or European banks have a presence in Russia,” the senior Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge said. “But what is shocking is that we have not heard from the banks what they plan to do about it.” Hodge added that financial institutions should do their part to enforce sanctions.
Hodge also specifically called out HSBC, saying that the bank was “further tarnishing its reputation in its bungled attempts to rewrite the present.”
“There is a violent war being waged in Ukraine,” she said. “The tragic loss of life and the millions of refugees seeking safety elsewhere attest to that. The failure of the banking giant to confront that truth and instead continue doing business in Russia is a terrible dereliction of moral duty that will not be forgotten.”
Russia has only referred to the war in Ukraine as a “special military operation,” phrasing that has been criticized by the international community as perhaps the most glaring example of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to justify the war, which has claimed the lives of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers alike since Putin ordered a full scale invasion on February 24.
