HSBC marks 150th anniversary with $150mln charity fund creation

PanARMENIAN.Net - 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of HSBC, which has depended on the support of its customers, shareholders and employees throughout its history.

To mark the 150th anniversary HSBC wants to say ‘thank you’, by making a US$150mln fund available to community projects and local charities over three years (2015-2017).

More than 50,000 HSBC employees voted on charitable themes in 2014. There were three clear winners: young people and their education; medical welfare and research; and the environment and wildlife.

Carefully selected over 140 charities worldwide will benefit from the funding. Each organization will provide a positive and sustainable change in their area of focus. The selection of charities is based on employee votes.

In Armenia, HSBC annually invests around AMD50mln in charities to support education and environmental projects. We focus on making innovative and high quality education accessible for children at risk. Tieing up with partners as “TUMO Centre for Creative Technologies”, Meghvik NGO, FPWC, CNF, JAA and others, in 2014 alone HSBC invested around AMD40m in 26 charitable education projects in Armenia.

The bank says it also invest in environmental programs tackling the challenges of climate change and natural resources depletion. In 2014 HSBC Armenia donated around AMD7m to environmental efficiency programs with main focus on water conservation and climate change. Together with partner charities we engage and support programs aimed at conservation of endangered species, biodiversity and promotion of ecotourism.

HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint said: "We are delighted to mark our 150th anniversary with this additional $150 million community fund. As a business, we believe that education, medical welfare and resources such as safe water and sanitation are essential to resilient communities which are, in turn, the basis of thriving economies and businesses."

The US$150mln fund is in addition to the US$114 million HSBC makes available to community investment programs globally each year.

HSBC has partnerships with some of the world’s leading charities, both large and small. A number of these have been in place for more than a decade enabling for long-term programs which can result in real and sustainable change. For example, work with WWF began in 2002 and more than 900,000 young people have benefitted from the work of over 700 projects in 62 countries through HSBC’s partnership with SOS Children’s Village.