HSBC boss Noel Quinn: Complex geopolitical landscape a ‘fact of life’ for global banks
- Clients still want to be international, underscoring the need for lenders who bridge East and West, says bank’s CEO
- HSBC has an ‘obligation to comply’ with sanctions, Quinn says
There remains a need for financial institutions, such as HSBC, that can act as bridge between East and West for commerce and trade, said Quinn in a wide-ranging keynote session at the Sibos 2021 conference.
“Our clients still want to be international. They still have needs on a global basis and they’re asking us to help them with those global needs,” Quinn said. “My job is to help this organisation navigate those geopolitics, be very focused on helping our clients navigate their business model needs and remaining focused on the long term, not just the short term.”
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Financial firms are also waiting to see how Hong Kong will move forward with an anti-sanctions law first adopted by Beijing in June as an answer to the US government’s use of the American financial system – and the US dollar as the world’s dominant trade currency – to achieve political goals internationally through financial sanctions.