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HSBC Kicks Off Year with Hong Kong Branches Closed, Vandalized

Reuters

   HONG KONG - HSBC is being drawn into Hong Kong's political turmoil with
   protesters attacking some of its branches and graffiti daubed on the
   famous pair of lions that guard its city-center headquarters.

   Hong Kong is the bank's single most important market, accounting for
   just over half of its $12.5 billion pre-tax profits in the first half
   of 2019, though with the protests tipping Hong Kong's economy into
   recession, HSBC and its peers are expected to take a financial hit.

   Until now, HSBC had largely escaped direct involvement in the
   often-violent anti-government protests that have shaken Hong Kong for
   more than six months even as other companies with perceived links to
   Beijing have seen premises vandalized, including Bank of China (Hong
   Kong), Hong Kong's second largest bank behind HSBC.

   But more recently, HSBC has drawn the ire of some protesters who accuse
   it of being complicit in action by the authorities against activists
   trying to raise money to support their campaign.

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