HSBC's CEO faces UK questions over freezing of HK accounts

New York

HSBC Holdings' chief executive officer Noel Quinn is set to appear before the UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee to answer questions over the lender's moves to freeze accounts of activists in Hong Kong, according to an exiled lawmaker.

Mr Quinn is listed as a participant, along with Colin Bell, the bank's chief compliance officer, at a private and public hearing on Tuesday, according to a parliament schedule, which did not provide details.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, whose account was frozen by the bank last year, said that members of the Foreign Affairs panel have contacted him. He said that he has provided the committee with detailed information on cases where his and his families accounts were frozen.

The London-based bank, which counts Hong Kong as its largest market, has been caught in the middle of growing tension as China tightens control over the former British colony. The lender came under criticism last year after its top executive in Asia publicly endorsed a controversial security law imposed on the city. A local church has also accused the bank of freezing its account.

A HSBC spokeswoman declined to comment. BLOOMBERG