HSBC
OVERALL |
|
Owned |
UK |
Rating |
N/A |
Banking and financial services
The world's second largest banking and financial services group, and second largest public company. It has around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and around 100 million customers. As of 30 June 2010, it had total assets of $2.418 trillion, of which roughly half were in Europe, a quarter in the Americas and a quarter in Asia.
HSBC Holdings plc | UK | website |
Company Assessment
PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
HSBC Holdings plc | ||||
In 2023, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change score of A-.
Source: CDP (2023)
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 62/100 in the Banks category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 16 Dec 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022) |
In 2015 the Fair Finance Guide ranked the top financiers of selected fossil fuels companies (loans & underwriting) and compared it to their financing of renewable energy. This bank appeared 10th in the list of top 25 fossil fuel funders, after providing US$39.3 billion for fossil fuels and only US$4.9 billion for renewable energy between 2009 and 2014.
Source: Fair Finance (2015)
This bank is the world's 5th largest provider of loans and underwriting for single-use plastic polymer production, according to Minderoo Foundation's 2021 Plastic Waste Makers Index. Institutional asset managers and global banks are providing billions of dollars to companies that produce polymers from fossil fuels, as much as 100 times more than they provide to companies trying to shift to a circular economy. Plastic pollution is one of the biggest, most urgent threats facing our planet and our health.
Source: Minderoo Foundation (2021)
The 2021 report "Banking on Climate Chaos" analyses the world's 60 largest banks and their financing of tar sands oil, Arctic oil, offshore oil and gas, LNG, coal mining, and coal-fired power between 2016 and 2020. This bank invested US$110.7 billion between 2016 and 2020, making it the world's 13th worst fossil fuel funder.
Source: RAN (2021)
This company appeared on Global Exchange's 2014 list of Most Wanted Corporate Criminals for money laundering, financing conflict palm oil producers, and destruction of land.
Source: Global Exchange (2018)
This company is recommended for divestment by the Project of the American Friends Service Committee for its involvement in the prison industry, particularly in the USA. Its subsidiary banks have provided credit and loans to private prison corporation GEO Group.
Source: AFSC (2021)
In Dec 2012 HSBC resolved a sweeping investigation into activities that included allowing drug cartels to launder at least $881 million, agreeing to a record $1.92 billion in fines and forfeitures with US government authorities.
Source: news article (2012)
Fair Finance Guide International's 2015 report about transparency and accountability in the Financial Sector assessed and scored banks on four key aspects: publication of policies and risk management; disclosure of investments; reporting on engagement with companies and voting behaviour; and stakeholder dialogue. The report also scored those banks on their transparency on tax-related issues, including the extent to which they provided detailed, country-by-country information on key indicators on transparency and tax. The report places assessed banks in three categories: leaders, followers and laggards. This bank scored 2.7/10 (Laggard) on the Transparency and Accountability theme, and 1.5/10 (Laggard) on the Taxes and Corruption theme.
Source: Fair Finance Guide (2015)
The 2018 update of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons' (ICAN) global report, "Don't Bank on the Bomb" showed that 329 financial institutions from around the world invested into 20 companies involved in the production, maintenance and modernization of nuclear weapons. Since 2014 this financial institution invested over US$3 billion into 10 of the 20 nuclear weapons producers named in the report.
Source: ICAN (2018)
Portfolio Earth's 2020 report, "Bankrolling Extinction" outlines the banking sector's role in the global biodiversity crisis. In 2019, the world's largest banks invested more than USD 2.6 trillion in sectors which governments and scientists agree are the primary drivers of biodiversity destruction. This bank is one of the world's ten largest providers of loans and underwriting linked to direct and indirect biodiversity impact risks.
Source: Portfolio Earth (2020)
Forest 500 identifies the 350 companies and 150 financial institutions with the greatest exposure to tropical deforestation risk, and annually assesses them on the strength and implementation of their deforestation and human rights commitments. This financial institution received a score of 39%.
Source: Forest 500 (2022) |
This article from The Ecologist outlines criticisms of this banks involvement in some of the most ecologically damaging energy projects around the world in the past decade. These include financing natural gas extraction in Burma, controversal mining operations and Indonesia, and the construction of five hydroelectric dams in Chilean Patagonia. [Listed under Information due to age of article]
Source: The Ecologist (2011)
This Nov 2011 report by a group of NGOs examines the financing of 31 major coal-mining companies and 40 producers of coal-fired electricity by 93 banks since 2005, the year the Kyoto Protocol came into force. This bank appears twentieth on their list of 'Top Twenty Climate Killer Banks'. The NGOs are calling on the banks to shift their portfolios to renewables and energy efficiency and set and implement ambitious CO2 reduction goals for their financed emissions. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: Banktrack (2011)
This company appeared sixth on RepRisk's top ten "most environmentally and socially controversial companies of 2012". Companies on the list were severely criticised during 2012 by the world's media, governments and NGOs. Two major scandals undermined HSBC's reputation in 2012: a series of international money laundering
charges, and the alleged involvement of the bank in the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate (Libor). [Listed under Information due to age of report] Source: RepRisk (2013)
HSBC appeared at #13 in a list of banks backing expansion in the tar sands. They have loaned US$667 million to companies operating in the Canadian tar sands since 2007, according to Bloomberg. Extracting oil from tar sands produces between 3 and 5 times the greenhouse gas pollution of conventional oil production, pollutes water, destroys forests, and uses huge amounts of energy to process. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: RAN (2010)
This company has been criticised by ActionAid for having subsidiaries in tax havens. One of the main reasons companies have subsidiaries in tax havens is to dodge their taxes. Developing countries lose more to tax dodging than they receive in aid each year.
Source: ActionAid (2011)
This company received a score of 44.7/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek (2017)
As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target; commit to 100% renewable power.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)
Compassion in World Farming is a UK-based organisation which works with the European food industry to encourage and reward commitment, transparency, performance and innovation in the field of animal welfare. This company won their Good Egg Award in 2012.
Source: Compassion in World Farming (2012)
This bank has endorsed the Green Bond Principles - a set of voluntary guidelines on the development and issuance of green bonds. Green Bonds enable capital-raising and investment for new and existing projects with environmental benefits.
Source: Ceres (2014)
This bank is a member of the Banking Environment Initiative, which was created in 2010 by the chief executives of some of the world's largest banks. Its stated mission is to lead the banking industry in collectively directing capital towards environmentally and socially sustainable economic development.
Source: University of Cambridge (2018)
The Equator Principles (EPs) are a set of guidelines, based upon the Performance Standards and guidelines from the IFC, the World Bank's private sector lending arm for private banks to assess and mitigate risks in project finance. Banks use the Principles to guide internal operating procedures for transaction for specific projects. Although the EPs are an important step to raise overall standards of financiers and projects in the developing world, they currently fall short on transparency and governance requirements.
Source: Equator Principles (2018)
This company is a member of The Sustainability Consortium, an organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. They develop transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives.
Source: Sustainability Consortium (2019)
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website (2017)
The 2022 Financial System Benchmark ranks 400 financial institutions across three measurement areas: governance and strategy, respecting planetary boundaries (environment, climate and biodiversity) and adhering to societal conventions (human rights). This company ranked #64/400, with a total score of 25/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2022)
This company is listed on the Facing Finance website as a financial institution which invests in companies that manufacture weapons or profit from violations of human rights, pollution, corruption, or international law. Follow link for further details.
Source: Facing Finance (2015)
BankTrack is a global network of civil society organisations and individuals tracking the operations of the banking sector and the activities they finance. BankTrack aims to promote fundamental changes in the banking sector so that banks adopt just and sustainable business practices. Follow the link to see this bank's profile.
Source: BankTrack (2018)
The Corporate Research Project's Corporate Rap Sheets are dossiers summarising the most significant crimes, violations and other questionable activities of the world's largest and most controversial companies. Follow link to see this company's Corporate Rap Sheet.
Source: Corporate Research Project (2018) |
Company Details
Type | Public company |
Revenue | 106 billion USD (2011) |
Employees | 298,000 (2011) |
Subsidiaries | HSBC Bank Australia Ltd
Banking and financial services - HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Ltd Nominee shareholder Listed in the top four shareholders (commonly #1) for almost every major company on the ASX, including Australia's Big 4 banks (Westpac, NAB, CBA and ANZ), Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Metcash, Qantas, Virgin Blue, Origin Energy, AGL, Fairfax Media, Goodman Fielder, Coca-Cola Amatil, Pacific Brands, Foster's, Billabong, Domino's, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Myer, David Jones, JB Hi-Fi, DuluxGroup, Treasury Wine Estates and ASX. |
Contact Details
Address | London, United Kingdom |
Website | www.hsbc.com |