Apr 29, 2022
China’s biggest insurer Ping An calls for break-up of HSBC
HSBC's largest shareholder, Chinese insurance company Ping An, has called for the UK bank to break itself up, according to people familiar with the matter. The rupture with the biggest insurer in China marks a further escalation of HSBC's geopolitical woes, with the bank squeezed between China and the west. Ping An owns 9.2 per cent of HSBC, according to two people familiar with the matter. Ping An was disappointed by the Bank of England's decision to force HSBC to cancel its dividend during the initial stage of the pandemic. The insurer is frustrated that while the vast majority of the bank's earnings are made in Asia - and in particular Hong Kong, where it was founded in 1865 - the lender's policies are still controlled by regulators in the UK. Ping An has also privately criticised the lender for missing cost-cutting and profitability targets, according to the people familiar with the matter.
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