Hong Kong’s banking regulator is pressuring lenders including HSBC and Standard Chartered to take on crypto exchanges as clients, even as US regulators crack down on the industry.At a meeting last month, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority questioned the UK-based lenders and Bank of China on why they were not accepting crypto exchanges as clients, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
Due diligence on potential customers should not “create undue burden”, particularly “for those setting up an office in Hong Kong to look for the opportunities here”, the HKMA said to the banks in an April 27 letter seen by the Financial Times.
Banks do not have a ban on crypto clients, but they are reluctant to take on exchanges over fears they could be prosecuted if the platforms are used for money laundering or other illegal activity.