HSBC strikes again

The Independent reports on further account closures by HSBC with the bank seemingly targeting Syrian refugees. The bank has been accused of ‘shamelessly profiling’ its customers after a number of customers of Syrian descent were sent letters informing them of their accounts being closed citing the reason as “increased requirements for compliance with international obligations concerning payments to and from sanctioned countries”.

The Independent details the experiences of some of those affected including Majid Maghout, a 26-year old student from Syria who “only found out that his two-year-old account would be closed when he tried to withdraw money and his debit card was swallowed by the ATM.”

“HSBC told me it had nothing to do with me as customer – the issue was that I was a Syrian citizen.

“I’m a student. I have no money and I’m here thanks to a scholarship. I live on £400 a month and I’ve never transferred money to Syria. This is a case of discrimination. They could have checked my balance and my records, but they simply decided to close my account,” he said.

HSBC has sent a number of letters to Muslim clients including Ummah Welfare Trust in Bradford, the Finsbury Park mosque and Cordoba Foundation. News of non-Muslim clients affected by the implementation of its ‘risk averse’ policy have not come to light to date fuelling speculation that the ‘world’s local bank’ is only closed for business to Muslims.