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HSBC’s head of public affairs is stepping down, weeks after making a public apology for saying the UK government had been “weak” by curtailing its dealings with China because of pressure from the US.
Sherard Cowper-Coles, an outspoken former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, will leave the bank next month, two people familiar with the decision said.
He apologised last month for saying at a private event in London that the UK should follow its own interests when it comes to China, rather than simply accept the US’s position. Bloomberg first reported his departure.
Cowper-Coles, who also chairs lobby group the China-Britain Business Council, said last month that he made the comments in a personal capacity. The CBBC did not immediately respond to questions about whether he would remain in the role.
After his speech came to light, HSBC chair Mark Tucker raised questions about Cowper-Coles’s behaviour and the bank insisted that chief executive Noel Quinn’s office approve all subsequent travel and speaking engagements, two people familiar with the matter said.
He was also removed from events at the UK Conservative and Labour party conferences this month, the people added.
The comments from one of its most senior figures — who advises the chair and chief executive — put HSBC in an embarrassing position at a time when its network straddling twin bases in London and Hong Kong is becoming tougher to navigate as geopolitical tensions rise.
The bank makes most of its money in Hong Kong and China but is headquartered in London, and depends on the US for its crucial dollar clearing licence. Many western companies are finding ways to reduce their exposure to China but HSBC has in recent years stepped up its “pivot to Asia”, which includes moving top executives from London to Hong Kong.
HSBC has also been fending off calls from its largest shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An, to break itself up into east-west divisions to improve returns and help it manage what the chair of Ping An Asset Management Michael Huang described as “cross-border systemic and geopolitical risks”.
Cowper-Coles’s controversial opinions on the UK’s attitude to China are not the only time he has attracted criticism recently.
The Mail on Sunday reported that in August Cowper-Coles allegedly told students at a dinner at the University of Oxford that “the Arabic mind is empty compared to the Chinese”. He told the newspaper that his comments had been taken out of context and did not reflect the views of either HSBC or the CBBC.
His diplomatic career included postings in Israel and Afghanistan in addition to Saudi Arabia.
He is the second HSBC employee to depart the bank over controversial comments in recent years. In July last year, Stuart Kirk resigned as HSBC Asset Management’s head of responsible investing after accusing policymakers of overstating 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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