HSBC suspends senior exec after he called warnings about the climate crisis 'unsubstantiated' and 'shrill,' a report says
- HSBC has suspended an executive after comments he made about the climate crisis, per the FT.
- Stuart Kirk played down warnings about the climate crisis in a presentation on Thursday.
HSBC has suspended a senior executive after remarks he made about the climate crisis, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Stuart Kirk, HSBC's head of responsible investing in the company's asset management division, referred to warnings about the climate crisis as "unsubstantiated" and "shrill" on a slide in a presentation at the FT's Moral Money Summit last Thursday.
The presentation, which was viewed by Insider, was called "Why investors need not worry about climate risk."
Kirk said in the presentation that throughout his 25-year career in finance, there was "always some nut-job telling me about the end of the world." He also drew a link between the climate crisis and Y2K, a widespread belief that a computer program issue was going to cause havoc at the turn of the millennium.
His presentation drew criticism, including from HSBC's group chief executive, Noel Quinn, for appearing to dismiss the global risks of climate change.
According to the FT, the bank has suspended Kirk, pending an internal investigation.
Quinn criticized Kirk's remarks in a LinkedIn post on Sunday, saying that the comments were "inconsistent with HSBC's strategy and do not reflect the views of the senior leadership of HSBC or HSBC Asset Management."
Quinn's post also stated: "Our ambition is to be the leading bank supporting the global economy in the transition to net-zero. I hope my colleagues, customers, and others will all know, from our work and my public comments, that HSBC is absolutely committed to a net-zero future."
Kirk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours. When asked to confirm reports of Kirk's suspension to Insider, HSBC said it would not comment on individual employees' situations.