Yet again, the prospect of HSBC upping sticks for Hong Kong rears its ugly head. And yet again, it feels more like spin over substance.
It’s easy to appreciate why big universal banks might not be feeling much loved in the UK.
The Conservatives and Labour continue bashing them, be it through the bank levy, bonus clawback rules or the ritual rotten tomato pelting by MPs on select committees.
Last time this came up, in 2012, HSBC said reviews of the UK domicile had been “postponed indefinitely”.
But fund manager Old Mutual reckons that may no longer be true. Asian investors in HSBC, we’re told, can’t see the point in it being based in what is fast becoming a higher-tax jurisdiction.
Such dramatic upheaval as a domicile move to the other side of the world can’t really all be about taxes, though.
HSBC, which faces investors at its AGM on Friday, likes being based in London because of its status as the world’s financial capital, the reliable UK regulatory and legal system and the helpful timezone for global trade.
Now look at Hong Kong in comparison. Sure, it is a big financial centre, but little more than four months ago protesters were being tear-gassed on the streets.
Their crime? Objecting to the Chinese Communist Party’s plans to vet their political candidates. What shape will Chinese intervention in the city and its inhabitants’ lives take in future decades? Nobody knows.
Regulation by London, or regulation by Beijing? I know which I’d prefer.
