(Bloomberg) -- BNP Paribas SA became the latest global firm to be dragged into the tensions roiling Hong Kong after the French lender publicly apologized for a posting on an employee's personal social media account.
The lender's statement on its website came after an unidentified employee made remarks on Facebook about a pro-Beijing group singing the Chinese national anthem at a shopping mall in the city's central business district last week, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
“We have spoken to the employee, who has since deleted the post, and we have taken immediate action regarding this matter,” the bank said in a statement on Friday, without elaborating on the content of the posting or the actions it took.
BNP said that while it respects its employees' freedom of expression, it does not tolerate language that is “disrespectful,” and strongly condemns any action or behavior that contributes to division. The bank declined to elaborate beyond Friday's comments when reached on Monday.
Foreign lenders are having to tread more carefully as tensions rise in the former British colony, where protests opposing an extradition bill have morphed into a mass repudiation of China's hold over Hong Kong. JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is in the process of building its presence in China, recently told some staff to ensure that they don't refer to Hong Kong, Macau or self-governing Taiwan as separate countries in research reports.
Major banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc last month broke their silence, calling for a peaceful resolution to differences in the city, via newspaper advertisements published in local papers.
Read more: HSBC calls for peaceful ways to resolve Hong Kong issues
The latest incident comes as BNP is seeking to expand its China operations to include brokerage, futures trading and wealth-management ventures. It last month won approval to lead underwrite all types of company notes in the interbank bond market, a long coveted license for those seeking to expand in the nation's $13 trillion debt market.
Verbal and physical scuffles broke out Thursday during an afternoon sing-off between groups singing the Chinese national anthem and others singing “Glory to Hong Kong,” which some demonstrators see as Hong Kong's anthem, at the centrally located IFC mall, according to footage broadcast on Cable TV.
To contact the reporters on this story: Alfred Liu in Hong Kong at aliu226@bloomberg.net;Bei Hu in Hong Kong at bhu5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Candice Zachariahs at czachariahs2@bloomberg.net, Jun Luo, Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam
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