HSBC has called for a peaceful resolution to the anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Laura Cha angered demonstrators five years ago when she compared their situation to that of “American slaves”

A former regulator who approved the abortive bid for the London Stock Exchange Group in September and once triggered a row with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong has been elevated to head HSBC’s biggest division.

Laura Cha has been appointed non-executive chairwoman of HSBC’s Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, a post left empty since John Flint, the chief executive of the group, was sacked in August. He had held the additional responsibility.

Mrs Cha will become chairwoman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, known internally as HBAP, operates the entire Asia-Pacific region, including Hong Kong’s biggest retail banking operation, and was responsible for 83 per cent of group profits in the first nine months of this year. Its regulator is the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

HSBC, based in London, is