HSBC Holding PLC's head of public affairs is stepping down, weeks after making a public apology for saying the UK government had been “weak” by curtailing its dealings with China because of pressure from the US, according to reports.
Sherard Cowper-Coles, an outspoken former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia, will leave the bank next month, two people familiar with the decision said, according to Bloomberg and the Financial Times.
He apologised last month for saying at a private event in London that the UK should follow its own interests when it comes to China, rather than simply accept the US’s position.
Cowper-Coles, who also chairs lobby group the China-Britain Business Council, said last month that he made the comments in a personal capacity.
After his speech came to light, HSBC chair Mark Tucker raised questions about Cowper-Coles’s behaviour and the bank insisted that chief executive Noel Quinn’s office approve all subsequent travel and speaking engagements, two people familiar with the matter said.