HSBC Hit by Backlash From Green Clients After Net Zero Exit

An HSBC Holdings Plc bank branch in Maidstone, UK.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

HSBC Holdings Plc faces a rebellion from some of its green clients angered by what they characterize as the London-based bank’s decision to backtrack on its climate commitments.

Dale Vince, founder of green energy firm Ecotricity Ltd., said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday that his company “just left” HSBC, and has taken its “£600 million green economy turnover elsewhere.” In an interview on Wednesday, he noted that the company has been in the process of pulling its business from HSBC for a while. Ecotricity will instead be using Lloyds Banking Group Plc, he said.