Hong Kong Banking Giants Defy Dire Predictions Amid Protests

HSBC, Standard Chartered earned more from city despite unrest
‘It would take a huge structural change’ to upend hub’s status

Demonstrators gather at Statue Square, outside the HSBC headquarters building, on Aug. 2.Photographer: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg

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By Alfred Liu

October 30, 2019 at 9:00 PM UTC

Updated on

October 31, 2019 at 5:04 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

There may be protests, wafts of tear gas and the occasional burning Starbucks along the street, but inside Hong Kong’s biggest financial firms the outlook for business is surprisingly status quo.

That was the takeaway this week as two banking giants in Hong Kong -- HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc -- posted quarterly results that showed business there held up despite civil unrest. Now, one of the top experts on the financial hub is weighing in with his evaluation: Don’t expect the city to lose any stature among global markets.