HSBC board recommends shareholders vote against spin-off resolution

HONG KONG (Reuters) – HSBC Holdings Plc’s board is unanimous in recommending that shareholders vote against proposals to restructure the bank and pay fixed dividends, its chairman, Mark Tucker, told Hong Kong shareholders on Monday.

The comment came as Ken Lui, an individual HSBC shareholder and leader of a Hong Kong-based investor group, called for a break up of the bank. His second proposed resolution calls on HSBC to restore pre-COVID-19 dividend levels.

Tucker told the shareholders a restructuring or spin-off of its Asia business, as demanded by Lui, would create a major period of uncertainty for clients, and employees and shareholders would be disrupted.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Robert Birsel)