The share price of HSBC, Britain’s largest bank, fell to a 25-year low on the Asian stock exchange on Monday due to fears that the bank could be included in the list prepared by the Chinese government as a threat to national security.
The value of the share has also been negatively affected by the information that the bank has laundered fraudulently obtained money. HSBC’s share price in Asia fell more than 4% at a time to Hong Kong dollars 29.6, the lowest level since 1995, given investor concerns about the bank’s ability to continue to operate in China and Hong Kong, which provide a huge share of its revenue.
The Global Times reports that HSBC could be one of the first companies on the Chinese government’s list of “unreliable legal entities”. The newspaper points to the bank’s involvement in a Washington investigation against Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei.
The bank could be subject to a number of restrictions, including on trade and investment, as well as on obtaining visas.
Documents leaked from the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crime Fighting Network (FinCEN) have reportedly revealed how several of the world’s largest banks have allowed criminals to conduct dirty money transactions and Russian oligarchs are using banking services to evade sanctions. Examination of the documents revealed that HSBC had allowed fraudsters to transfer stolen money around the world, although it had learned from US investigators that the funds had been obtained through criminal means.
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