HSBC scrubs references to Ukraine 'war' from reports, FT says
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The language changes have prompted internal debate and complaints from some staff, Financial Times reported.
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HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - HSBC Holdings has edited research reports from its analysts to remove any references to a "war" in Ukraine as the lender resists pressure to follow peers in closing its business in Russia, the Financial Times reported, citing two unidentified sources.
HSBC committees that review externally published research and client communications have amended multiple reports to soften the language, including changing the word "war" to "conflict", the newspaper reported on Monday (March 28).
A source close to the bank said the issue was extremely sensitive because HSBC has about 200 staff in Russia, where the government has enacted a law against spreading what it deems false information on the Ukraine war, FT said. The language changes have prompted internal debate and complaints from some staff, it reported.
Global lenders, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs Group, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co, have been pulling business from Russia. Goldman Sachs announced plans to close its operations there, while Deutsche Bank also announced a pullback earlier this month.
Internally, HSBC has been more open, with chief executive Noel Quinn using the word war in a video to top managers, FT said.
An HSBC spokesman declined to comment.
The bank declined to comment to FT and referred to a previous statement: "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the continuing conflict in Ukraine."
