HSBC CEO, who does not use burner phones in China, says he's still confident in world's second biggest economy

By Louis Goss

Noel Quinn, the chief executive of HSBC (HSBC), has said he uses his own tech equipment when he goes to Hong Kong following reports the world's top consultancies have told their staff to use burner phones there.

The veteran banker, who previously headed HSBC's Asia-Pacific division from its Hong Kong offices, hit back at suggestions he might use a burner phone when visiting the China-controlled territory as he said he remains confident in the second biggest economy in the world.

"I can guarantee you, I take two phones, two iPads and a laptop into Hong Kong and China," Quinn told the Financial Times Global Banking Summit in London on Wednesday. "I certainly don't take burner phones. I take phones, iPads and a laptop wherever I go."

Quinn's comments follow reports in the Financial Times that staff at top consulting firms including Deloitte and KPMG have been advised to use burner phones when visiting Hong Kong, in a sign of the growing challenges of conducting business in the city-state.

Instead, the head of the London headquartered bank, which was founded in Hong Kong in 1865, said he remains "optimistic" about the "global economic situation" as he argued China is still "very open" for business, despite the challenges it has faced since the start of COVID-19.

He dismissed claims the world is going through a process of deglobalization as he instead argued the world is now going through a process of "re-globalization" as the world's top economies pivot towards new models of growth.

Quinn brushed aside suggestions that political interference from the Chinese government might have played a role in plans put forward by HSBC's top shareholder, insurance giant Ping An (CN:601318), to split off the bank's Asian business. "It was a commercial decision," Quinn said.

In its third-quarter results, HSBC reported a 139% increase in its pretax profits and a 20% rise from Hong Kong and China in particular, even as the bank recorded $1.1 billion of China-related impairments, including a $500 million hit to its Chinese commercial real estate business.

Quinn said he believes the slump in China's commercial real estate market has now bottomed out but said the wider "economic consequences" of the dip are now "feeding their way through the Chinese economy."

He noted HSBC are still pursuing expansion in China as he argued there are various different dynamics taking place

In response to the U.K. City minister Bim Afolami's statements on Tuesday that the British government is aiming to simplify regulation to revive banker's "animal spirits" the HSBC boss said he prefers a more "balanced" approach.

The City minister's talk saw him outline plans to instill a risk friendly approach in the U.K.'s financial regulators, with a view to boosting Britain's economic growth. "There's no point having the safest graveyard," Afolami said.

Quinn, however, said he is "not a fan of just unleashing" as he argued shareholders value repeat performances over fast-paced bursts of growth, despite saying he supports the Prudential Regulation Authority's decision to lift the banker's bonus cap.

"The most important thing about running a financial services organization is keeping the confidence of your stakeholders," Quinn said. "It's far, far better to have a much more balanced growth trajectory. I don't think we should use the lifting of the bonus cap to unleash more risk taking"

-Louis Goss

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11-29-23 0647ET

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