'Top Tory calls for 'urgent' probe into HSBC freezing savings to appease Beijing', This is Money

A top Tory has called on ministers to ‘urgently investigate’ the blocking of hundreds of millions of pounds in pensions owed to British nationals from Hong Kong by banking giant HSBC.

It comes as a human rights group accused the UK-headquartered bank, which makes most of its money in Hong Kong and China, of denying withdrawal applications from people who used indefinite leave to remain (ILR) status to prove they permanently resettled in Britain.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said it had left thousands of people unable to access life savings, was ‘wholly wrong’ and was done to ‘appease Beijing’.

More than £1billion of savings was frozen after the introduction of repressive national security laws in Hong Kong sparked an exodus of people holding British National Overseas (BNO) passports to the UK. Most of this – £978million – is in accounts overseen by HSBC.

The savings are held in the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), a compulsory pension scheme most Hong Kongers and their employers pay into. People can withdraw their pension early if they have permanently resettled overseas. 

To do so, they need to provide documentary proof that they are permitted to reside abroad.

In 2021, China said it would no longer recognise BNO passports or visas as valid travel documents.

The row has been reignited after a survey of British Hong Kongers by Hong Kong Watch found HSBC was denying withdrawals using ILR status too. This is issued by the Home Office to prove people are permanently settled in the UK.

ILRs were not mentioned in Beijing’s 2021 announcement forbidding the acceptance of BNOs.

‘It is outrageous Hong Kongers who did everything right – who built new lives in Britain, gained settled status, and proved their permanent departure – are still locked out of their retirement savings. 

This is not a technicality, but a hardship inflicted on ordinary families by an authoritarian regime’s political retaliation,’ said Megan Khoo at Hong Kong Watch.

When asked by The Mail on Sunday why it was rejecting applicants using ILRs, HSBC said the rules around which documents would be accepted for early withdrawal were ‘a matter of law’ and it had ‘no discretion in this matter’.

But the bank declined to specify which legislation was being used for this purpose in either Hong Kong or the UK, or how it would be aware of a person’s previous passport or visa status if they were not submitted as part of a withdrawal application and given they are not recorded in ILRs.

The response also appeared to contradict the Hong Kong pension regulator’s website which states trustees of the savings, including HSBC, are responsible for deciding which documents suffice to prove whether an applicant was permitted to reside abroad.

Patel, who was Home Secretary when the BNO route was set up, said: ‘Government must urgently investigate and act to ensure banks are not blocking use of legitimate ID. Labour cannot allow a desire to appease Beijing to get in the way of Hong Kongers’ rights.’

An HSBC spokesman said: ‘The conditions for early withdrawal are a matter of law and are not set by the trustee company. 

'There are significant penalties for non-compliance. Neither HSBC nor any other MPF trustee has discretion in this matter. The pension benefits of affected members remain in the system and continue to accrue, and can be withdrawn once any of the right conditions are met, including upon retirement.’

Labour’s stance on exiles was highlighted last month when Wu Chi-wai, a prominent pro-democracy campaigner, was detained by UK border agents and threatened with deportation despite travelling on his BNO passport. 

He was finally allowed to stay after an outcry from activists and politicians.

This article was published in This is Money on 16 August 2026.

Photo: Priti Patel ©House of Commons