The Financial Times reports that HSBC has suspended a senior banker over his controversial climate change comments.
Stuart Kirk, who worked for the bank from 2006 to 2015, had made a presentation on climate risk that he said did not warrant the attention of investors. But climate activists have been quick to question the bank’s decision to take Kirk off the board. Some believe that the bank must explain how the comments were ‘signed off’ and whether it is an example of how the bank works with employees on environmental issues.
In an internal investigation, HSBC has suspended Kirk, head of responsible investment at HSBC. He made controversial comments about climate change in a presentation and was then accused of being “shrill and unsubstantiated”. Kirk’s comments have come under fire, and the bank has been forced to suspend him until a full investigation is completed.
HSBC did not immediately comment on the suspension of Mr Kirk, but declined to respond to questions. The executive has worked at HSBC since 2007 and is based in London. His job involves assessing the impact of investments on social and environmental issues.
The SEC will accept public comments on these measures for 60 days. The SEC has stepped up its efforts to crack down on “greenwashing,” where companies claim to minimize their impact on the environment, but fail to disclose how they manage this risk.
The SEC also sanctioned a subsidiary of BNY Mellon on Monday for misrepresenting the quality of its ESG quality reviews in prospectuses. Kirk’s comments were widely condemned and the suspension comes amid a wider controversy in the banking sphere.