The exec HSBC suspended over climate change 'hyperbole' comments has resigned, says he's planning 'arguably the greatest sustainable investment idea ever conceived'

• The HSBC executive the bank reportedly suspended this spring said Thursday that he had resigned.
• Stuart Kirk, who had led responsible investments, made controversial climate remarks in May.

Stuart Kirk, the HSBC executive the bank reportedly suspended after he said in a presentation that climate change should not concern investors as a financial risk, announced on Thursday that he had resigned.

Kirk, who was the head of responsible investments for HSBC's asset management arm, said during an event hosted by the Financial Times in May that he disagreed with the financial industry's widely held view that the climate crisis is a threat to investments.

"Ironically given my job title, I have concluded that the bank's behaviour towards me since my speech at a Financial Times conference in May has made my position, well, unsustainable," Kirk, who was a journalist at the Financial Times earlier in his career before going into the finance industry, said in a post on LinkedIn on Thursday.

The uproar over his presentation — whose contents had been agreed upon internally before Kirk's public remarks, according to the Financial Times — prompted members of HSBC management to distance themselves from Kirk and led to his suspension, the FT reported.

The controversy highlights the fierce debate surrounding investing while considering environmental, social, and governance factors.

As every major bank and asset management firm has invested heavily in creating new teams, launching new products, and aggressively marketing their commitments to ESG frameworks, the industry is growing increasingly divided over whether ESG considerations are a marketing gimmick or a way to address the climate crisis.

Kirk had presented a series of slides, entitled, "Why investors need not worry about climate risk," and seemed to downplay the science-backed threat that climate change poses. A video of his 16-minute speech on YouTube has 160,000 views.

In the presentation, Kirk had said comments warning of grave risks stemming from climate change by public figures like Henry Paulson, the former US Treasury secretary, and bodies like the Bank of England were overstated. They amounted to attempts to "out-hyperbole the next guy."

In his LinkedIn post, Kirk said that "there is no place for virtue signalling in finance," and that "words or trading shares can only achieve so much" in the fight to save the planet.

"True impact comes from the combination of real-world action and innovative solutions. Which is why I've been gathering a crack group of like-minded individuals together to deliver what is arguably the greatest sustainable investment idea ever conceived. A whole new asset class. Sounds fanciful — but I am not one for hyperbole, as viewers of my presentation know well," he wrote, adding that the project he is planning will launch this year.

A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment.