A Hong Kong corporate lawyer has tendered his resignation at BNP Paribas after his expression of support for the anti-government protests caused a storm amongst China's netizens.
A former corporate lawyer at BNP Paribas has quit the bank after expressing support for Hong Kong's anti-government protests and mocking pro-Chinese supporters on his personal Facebook account, both «Financial Times» and «South China Morning Post» reported.
The BNP staff was the legal head of the company’s debt capital markets in Hong Kong and has declined to comment on his «former employer» saying it was a private matter.
Post Drew Ire
The resignation was confirmed by a source with knowledge of the matter, as reported by «South China Morning Post». The move followed an earlier apology from the French investment bank, saying the remarks «did not reflect the view of BNP Paribas».
The post related to a protest held by activists from mainland China in the IFC Mall in Central earlier this month aimed to counter the citywide human chains formed by anti-government protesters, dubbed the «Hong Kong Way».
Threat to Boycott
The post was later deleted but has since been circulated on the mainland’s Weibo platform. Some asked the French bank to fire the staff and threatened to boycott the investment bank, as finews.asia also reported.
Without naming the staff, BNP previously said in a statement: «We deeply apologize for the offense caused by a social media post that was expressed on one of our employees’ personal accounts.»
