A Top Banker Slammed Policymakers’ Efforts To ‘Out-Hyperbole’ Each Other On Climate Change. The Bank Suspended Him.
Multinational bank HSBC suspended a senior executive after he blasted the tendency to overstate the financial risks of climate change to “out-hyperbole the next guy,” according to a Sunday report from Financial Times.
At last week’s Financial Times conference, Stuart Kirk — the global head of responsible investing at HSBC’s asset management division — delivered a presentation called “Why investors need not worry about climate risk.” Top executives internally agreed upon the theme and content of the speech before Kirk delivered it on Thursday, according to Financial Times.
During the presentation, Kirk accused policymakers of exaggerating the financial implications of climate change to “out-hyperbole the next guy” and compared concern over the climate to Y2K. Kirk said that there has always been “some nut job telling me about the end of the world” throughout his 25-year career in financial services.
One of his presentation slides said, “Unsubstantiated, shrill, partisan, self-serving, apocalyptic warnings are ALWAYS wrong.”
HSBC CEO Noel Quinn denounced Kirk’s remarks in a LinkedIn post.
“I do not agree — at all — with the remarks made at last week’s FT Moral Money Summit. They are inconsistent with HSBC’s strategy and do not reflect the views of the senior leadership of HSBC or HSBC Asset Management,” Quinn wrote. “Our ambition is to be the leading bank supporting the global economy in the transition to net zero. I hope my colleagues, customers and others will all know, from our work and my public comments, that HSBC is absolutely committed to a net zero future.”
“Given our global reach and capabilities we have an obligation to lead,” he continued. “I want HSBC to be a leader in supporting our clients, the finance sector and others through the massive transformation that’s needed to build a better future. We have a lot of work to do, and I am
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