Exclusive: HSBC aims to double number of senior Black staff by 2025 – memo

LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC <0005.HK> aims to double the number of Black staff in senior roles by 2025, Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in an internal memo, as the bank attempts to take action against discrimination and create opportunities for advancement in the wake of the wider Black Lives Matter movement.

Black employees at the bank have said in internal meetings that they have felt overlooked for career opportunities and “uninspired by the lack of senior role models”, Quinn said in a memo to all staff seen by Reuters on Monday.

A spokeswoman for HSBC confirmed the contents of the memo.

The bank did not say what proportion of senior employees are Black at the moment.

(Reporting By Sinead Cruise, writing by Lawrence White, editing by Susan Fenton)