Company Announcements

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2022-- HSBC Bank Canada’s 2021 Public Accountability Statement (PAS), now available online at https://www.about.hsbc.ca/hsbc-in-canada/community, details how we are working towards the transition to net zero, contributing to our communities and helping our employees and customers to thrive.

2021 highlights

• Recognized as one of Corporate Knight’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada for the 10^th year in a row.
• Achieved a 67% increase in sustainable financing volumes from 2020, and a 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (energy and travel) from our 2019 baseline.
• Donated more than $5m to registered Canadian charities, reaching more than 142,000 people.

“Developments in the world every day remind us of how interconnected we are, and what our responsibility is as a corporate citizen and employer of thousands of Canadians who aim to make a difference as we build a sustainable future. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and of the disciplined approach we are taking to tracking and improving our contributions on all fronts,” said Linda Seymour, President & CEO, HSBC Bank Canada.

Climate

In 2020, we announced our global ambition to support our customers in their transition to net zero and a sustainable future. In 2021, we continued to deliver on our climate plan, including measuring our financed emissions, reducing energy consumption in our own operations, supporting our customers through the transition, and unlocking climate solutions and innovation.

In Canada, we provided USD2.3 billion in sustainable financing in 2021, an increase of 67% over 2020. We were the first bank to apply sustainable finance market principles to both trade and deposit products for commercial and global banking clients, and launched an Energy Efficiency Loan and Electric Vehicle Loan for personal banking customers.

We also continued to work towards our goal of reducing carbon emissions from our own operations and supply chains to net zero by 2030 or sooner, and saw a 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the energy in our buildings and employees’ business travel from our 2019 baseline.

Community

In 2021, HSBC donated over $5 million to community organizations, helping more than 142,000 Canadians access a wide range of programs in the areas of employment, financial capability and climate solutions.

Our colleagues also mobilised to support communities through virtual volunteering and giving back. We saw colleagues participate in virtual events from across the country and raise funds during our annual HSBC Giving Campaign, bringing the total matched and corporate donation to $646,000.

Our people

In 2021, we built on resilience and change initiatives to support our colleagues as they continued to adapt to changing work environments. With a global relaunch of our strategy, purpose and values, we focused our efforts to embed hybrid flexible working arrangements, support our customer-facing employees, listen to our people and promote well-being and mental health tools, while staying on track with our diversity and inclusion goals.

We continue to be a leader in employment equity and were proud to receive an Excellence in Governance Award in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion category from Governance Professionals of Canada. 2021 marked eight continuous years that our board has been gender balanced and 43% of our employees identify as a visible minority.

We also introduced new wellness supports in recognition of the impact of the pandemic on mental health, including enhancing our health plan coverage to include 100% coverage for 18 visits to a mental health professional each year. More than 400 employees have also completed our online mental health education programs.

Our business

We continued to support our customers with a wide range of products and services to meet their needs, helped them navigate through the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic and invested in making banking simpler, faster and safer. For example:

• We were one of the first financial institutions to integrate digital identification verification into our credit cards and deposit account openings
• Our specialised newcomers team provided online financial education sessions to 4,000 newcomers.
• Launched five new sustainable finance products, making us the first bank in Canada to apply sustainable finance market principles to both trade and deposit products.
• Partnered with the federal government to offer loans through the Canada Small Business Financing Program.

We also authorized more than $76 billion in debt financing to more than 10,000 Canadian businesses of all sizes.

About HSBC Bank Canada

HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (’HSBC Group’), is the leading international bank in the country. We help companies and individuals across Canada to do business and manage their finances here and internationally through four businesses: Commercial Banking, Global Banking, Markets and Securities Services, and Wealth and Personal Banking. HSBC Group has committed to becoming net-zero in its operations and financed emissions and is working with our clients to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy.

HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC Bank Canada, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves clients worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$3,022bn at 31 March 2022, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.

For more information, visit www.hsbc.ca or follow us on Twitter: @hsbc_ca or Facebook: @HSBCCanada

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220505005927/en/

Media enquiries to:
Sharon Wilks
416-868-3878
sharon_wilks@hsbc.ca

Baron Yeh
604-642-4311
baron.x.yeh@hsbc.ca

Source: HSBC Bank Canada