HSBC to stop using PR firm Bell Pottinger following S.Africa controversy
LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - HSBC will no longer employ Bell Pottinger following the public relations firm's expulsion from the industry's trade association over a campaign judged to have deliberately stoked racial tensions in South Africa.
"We have used Bell Pottinger for specific projects in the past but will not be doing so in the future," a spokeswoman for Europe's biggest bank told Reuters by email on Tuesday.
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) earlier found that Bell Pottinger had backed a campaign that played on still-sensitive race relations, in support of South African President Jacob Zuma and his ruling party. (Reporting By Lawrence White. Editing by Andrew MacAskill)
