HSBC’s Chairman Mark Tucker has raised alarms over the challenges facing global trade, highlighting the associated risks to economic growth. During the bank’s annual shareholder meeting in London, he noted the increased uncertainty in international trade relations, which complicates medium-term economic forecasts for banks like HSBC. Tucker, who announced his retirement by the year’s end, expressed confidence that the bank would achieve its targets and deliver healthy returns by 2025. Despite threats from a potential global recession and fluctuating business confidence, HSBC and other major European banks have maintained ambitious performance goals following strong first-quarter profits.
However, given HSBC’s trade-focused nature and significant exposure to U.S. tariffs, the bank is at a heightened risk, particularly concerning the impacts on exporters and importers in Asia, especially China. In addition to trade issues, HSBC is pursuing its goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and has started a review of its interim financed emissions targets. This shift has drawn criticism from climate activists, especially after HSBC changed its timeline for achieving net-zero emissions across its operations from 2030. Protesters at the meeting questioned the bank’s backing of fossil fuel projects, like the East Africa crude oil pipeline, amid concerns about political influences on sustainability initiatives.
Furthermore, Tucker addressed concerns from members of workplace pension schemes regarding clawback policies that have affected payouts. While past resolutions on this issue have been rejected by shareholders, he acknowledged the plight of affected members and pledged to revisit the matter. He concluded the meeting by expressing gratitude to investors for their support throughout his tenure, noting that all resolutions passed in alignment with the board’s recommendations.