LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn has said he does not believe a campaign by its biggest shareholder, Chinese insurer Ping An, is politically motivated.
HSBC has come under concerted pressure from Ping An Insurance Group, which has urged the bank to split off its Asian business to boost returns.
The campaign has come amid rising geopolitical tensions between China and the West, leading to speculation Ping An’s move could at least partly be prompted by Beijing.
“No, I do not believe it’s politically motivated, based on all of the dialogue that we’ve had with various stakeholders,” Quinn said at a Financial Times conference.
(Reporting by Lawrence White and Iain Withers; Editing by Jan Harvey)
