I was interested to read this morning that a spokeswoman for HSBC recently said  “HSBC has operated across the globe for over 150 years and is fully committed to driving a diverse and inclusive culture. We are committed to learning from the past and, in particular, anything that would be inconsistent with our values today. HSBC has zero tolerance towards racial discrimination, or any other type of discrimination.”

I worked for the Bank in the 1990’s and it was a bastion of white male culture.  I recall no female senior managers, and my wife, who also worked for the Bank, was employed on completely different (and worse) terms than mine.  While I was there the first (ever) Chinese general manager was appointed.  I recall no other Asians, and no Continental Europeans,  in the ranks of top managers – just plenty of Scots.