Hong Kong’s HSBC bank has closed three bank accounts used by the League of Social Democrats (LSD) – one of the few remaining opposition parties in the city – for receiving donations, according to a letter from the bank that was seen by HKFP.
Dickson Chau Ka-fat, the external vice chairperson of LSD, told HKFP that HSBC first informed the group that their accounts would be terminated in late-February. Despite the group’s request for clarification, HSBC did not give reasons for its decision.
The activist group later received two other letters from the bank on April 25 and May 17, respectively. In its letter dated May 17, HSBC said it maintained the decision to terminate three of LSD’s bank accounts after completing the relevant re-examination.
“We acknowledge that this decision may be disappointing for your company, and we apologise for it. Nevertheless, we kindly request your understanding as we have carefully taken into account multiple factors and conducted a comprehensive assessment prior to reaching this decision,” the letter read.
The three bank accounts, which were mainly used for receiving donations, were the only accounts held by LSD in Hong Kong. Supporters of the group had told them that they were unable to transfer donations to the accounts, Chau added.
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