Stuart Kirk told an event at the Financial Times in May that central bankers were trying to “over-hype the next guy” with their dire warnings about the threat to investors and banks from global warming. The speech – titled “Why investors needn’t worry about climate risk” – drew public criticism from HSBC, which suspended Kirk pending an internal investigation. On Thursday, he announced on LinkedIn that he was leaving the bank, insisting there was “no place for virtue signaling in finance” and adding: “If companies believe in diversity and speaking up, they should speak up. A culture of cancellation destroys wealth and progress.” Kirk, who had been publicly excoriated by HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn and head of wealth and personal banking Nuno Matos, said: “Ironically given my job title, I have come to the conclusion that the bank’s behavior towards from my speech at a Financial Times conference in May has made my position unsustainable.” HSBC declined to comment. Kirk’s suspension sparked an industry-wide debate about the rise of environmental, social and governance investment. HSBC’s handling of the incident sparked outrage from Republicans in the US, with Senator Steve Daines warning that “the episode may involve violations of US law”. Speaking at the FT event, Kirk said that throughout his 25-year career in finance “there was always one job that told me about the end of the world”, likening the climate crisis to the Y2K bug that he envisioned a wide dissemination. computer glitch at the turn of the millennium. “Baseless, shrill, partisan, self-serving, apocalyptic warnings are ALWAYS wrong,” he wrote on a slide accompanying his presentation. Kirk said he was planning a new venture with “a group of like-minded people” that he would announce later in the year. He added: “I can take this opportunity to thank the tens of thousands of people – from CEOs and members of Congress to scientists and mom-and-pop investors – who have contacted me from around the world offering their support and solidarity with last two months”. Kirk is a former FT journalist who worked at Deutsche Bank and DWS’s asset management business before joining HSBC AM in 2020.
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