HSBC Bank Defeats Former Relationship Manager’s Race Bias Suit

HSBC Bank USA NA prevailed in a race discrimination and retaliation suit brought by a Black premier relationship manager who was fired for poor performance.

Matthew Igus failed to demonstrate that the bank’s proffered reasons for dismissal were pretextual, or that his alleged discrimination complaint caused his termination, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled Tuesday.

Igus transferred to the Arch Street location in Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood in 2020 after HSBC closed his previous branch, according to the opinion. It usually called for a Mandarin speaker, and was a higher tier branch with different goals than ...