HSBC says sorry for porn link on its website

HONG KONG - Banking giant HSBC apologised for a website blunder on its Hong Kong page which directed unwitting visitors to a pornographic site, reports said yesterday.

In a statement published on Monday, the bank made an apology and said the link to the external website had been removed from its community projects.

"HSBC would like to apologise to the public for any inconvenience caused," it said in the statement.

A video seen on the Apple Daily newspaper's website showed the www.hsbc.com.hk website linking to a page that showed suggestive pictures of scantily clad women.

"It's a new HSBC business," Hong Konger Terry To commented jokingly on Apple Daily's Facebook page.

The page, which was originally for HSBC's now-defunct Young Entrepreneur Awards, had been taken over by a porn site, the South China Morning Post reported.

The British bank added that it was not associated with the racy webpage "in any way", adding that its website remains secure.