HSBC Holdings PLC faces a warning from the UK’s advertising watchdog over greenwashing, and is being ordered to be more transparent over its contribution to climate change, the Financial Times reported.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the bank misled customers in two advertisements published in October last year by selectively promoting green initiatives and leaving out information about its financing of companies with substantial emissions, the newspaper said, citing a draft recommendation it has seen.
The authority is proposing ordering HSBC UK to “ensure that future marketing communications featuring environmental claims did not omit significant information about its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
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HSBC is preparing a response to the draft recommendation, which would be examined by the watchdog’s council, it said.
Separately, HSBC’s largest active investor would support a breakup of the lender on the basis that a separate Asia-listed unit creates shareholder value.
Ping An Insurance Group Co (平安保險集團) has held discussions with the bank on the idea of spinning off HSBC’s Asian operations and listing them separately in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, adding that a spinoff would likely win broad investor support.
China’s largest insurer owned 8 percent of London-headquartered HSBC at the end of last year, the bank’s annual report said. About 65 percent of HSBC’s profit before tax comes from Asia compared to a fifth from Europe.
Ping An supports all reform proposals from investors that can help with HSBC’s operations and “long-term value growth,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.
Breaking up the bank could follow the Prudential PLC playbook. The insurance group split its Asian unit from its UK operations in 2019, but kept its listing in London.
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