Thirteen Parliamentarians ask HSBC how its restructure will affect MPF claimants

Today, 13 Parliamentarians have written a letter to HSBC, inquiring about how its restructure will affect Hong Kongers under the British National (Overseas) (BNO) scheme who make Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) claims.

On 22 October, HSBC announced that it would divide its operations into four businesses: Hong Kong; UK; Corporate and Institutional Banking; and International Wealth and Premier Banking “to help it cut costs and navigate rising geopolitical tensions between China and the west” from 1 January 2025. 

In the letter, 13 Parliamentarians from every major political party, including Lord Patten of Barnes, Conservative Member of the House of Lords, the last Governor of Hong Kong, and Patron of Hong Kong Watch and Lord Alton of Liverpool, Crossbench Member of the House of Lords and Patron of Hong Kong Watch, asked for more information on how the restructure would affect the more than 180,000 BNO Hong Kongers living across the UK who attempt to withdraw their MPF savings. 

The letter details the situation of Hong Kongers being withheld from accessing £3 billion worth of their MPF savings. It states, “As you will be aware, after the British government launched the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme in January 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it would no longer recognise the BNO passport as a valid form of identity… [this] continues to block an estimated 126,500 Hong Kongers with BNO passports from accessing their savings. Specifically, HSBC has denied Hong Kongers access to approximately £887 million worth of assets in the MPF.”

The letter also requests HSBC to “continue to investigate this matter and ensure your subsidiaries and operations in Hong Kong engage with customers in the UK to resolve this matter and give them access to their MPF savings.”

The Parliamentarians look forward to receiving a reply from HSBC.

Read the full letter here.

Lord Patten of Barnes, the last Governor of Hong Kong and Patron of Hong Kong Watch, said:

“I hope that the restructure of HSBC will bring about meaningful changes for Hong Kongers who have struggled to access billions worth of their savings since the introduction of the British National (Overseas) visa scheme in January 2021. If HSBC has not yet taken into account how its reorganisation, specifically in regard to the split between the Hong Kong and UK markets, will affect Hong Kongers abroad, it should carefully consider how to protect its Hong Kong customers from further financial transnational repression.”

13位英議員聯署致函滙豐集團行政總裁 詢問滙豐重組如何影響港人提取MPF

今天，13位英國國會議員聯署致函滙豐集團行政總裁艾橋智（Georges Elhedery），查詢滙豐架構重組對BNO香港人申請提取強積金（MPF）存款的影響。

10月22日，滙豐宣布從2025年1月1日起，將營運架構分為四大業務：「香港」、「英國」、「企業及機構理財」、「國際財富管理及卓越理財」，從而「幫助集團削減成本，並應對中國與西方之間日趨加劇的地緣政治緊張關係」。

13位各大政黨議員在信中要求滙豐提供更多資訊，說明重組會如何影響18多萬名居於英國各地試圖提取MPF儲蓄的BNO港人。聯署議員包括兩位香港監察贊助人──保守黨上議員、最後一任香港總督彭定康勳爵（Lord Patten of Barnes），以及中立上議員奧爾頓勳爵（Lord Alton of Liverpool）。

聯署信詳述港人被拒絕提取總值30億英鎊MPF儲蓄的情況。信中指：「如你所知，英國政府在2021年1月推出英國國民（海外）（BNO）簽證計劃後，中國外交部宣布不再承認BNO護照為有效身分……［此舉］持續阻撓估計126,500名持BNO護照港人提取存款。具體來說，滙豐拒絕港人提取總值約8.87億英鎊的MPF資產。」

此外，信函要求滙豐「繼續調查此事，確保滙豐在香港的附屬公司和營運業務與身在英國的客戶接觸，務求解決此事，讓他們提取MPF存款。」

聯署議員期待收到滙豐的回覆。

請在此處閱覽信函全文。

前港督、香港監察贊助人彭定康勳爵表示：

「我希望滙豐重組會為自2021年1月BNO簽證計劃推出以來一直努力取回數十億英鎊儲蓄的香港人，帶來有意義的改變。如果滙豐尚未考慮其架構重組，特別是關於香港和英國市場分拆，會如何影響海外港人，那就應該仔細考慮如何保護香港客戶免受進一步金融跨國鎮壓。」