The Court has confirmed that the Trustee’s application will be heard by Chief Master Shuman in the High Court in London at 10:30am on Friday 6 March 2026. The hearing will take place in Hearing Room 3 at The Rolls Building, 7 Rolls Buildings, Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL.
The Trustee recommends that any member who wishes to attend the hearing checks the relevant website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-and-property-courts-rolls-building-cause-list) at approximately 3pm on the day before the hearing, to check that the details remain correct.
Please note that, although the Trustee’s application will be heard in public, there may be parts of the hearing which will be in private. This will happen when any of the parties wish to discuss their confidential legal advice only with the Chief Master. This is standard practice in Court hearings of this nature. Due to the size of the room, there will also be a limit to the number of people who are able to attend the hearing.
Members will be informed of the outcome in a further communication following the Court’s decision.
The Representative’s position
The Representative has confirmed that he is sympathetic to the views expressed by members in their responses to the November 2025 Newsletter, including that the Scheme’s surplus should be spent on increasing members’ benefits rather than funding the Bank's DC contributions. He therefore does not personally agree with or support the Trustee's application. However, he has received detailed advice on the relevant legal arguments from specialist solicitors and a leading barrister, a King's Counsel (which advice takes into account all members' responses), and on the basis of that advice understands that there is no proper legal basis on which to oppose the Trustee's application, and will not do so.
The Trustee will still need to persuade the Court to grant the relief it is seeking. The Representative's position remains subject to any further member responses which change the legal advice he has received. The Representative's legal team will attend the hearing and are able to make further submissions to the Court to explain the position taken by the Representative and to provide any update as applicable.
The Trustee wishes to emphasise that, as set out in Q23 of the FAQs (which can be found here https://futurefocus.staff.hsbc.co.uk/active-dc/rule-change or click on the dropdown ‘The Scheme’ and select ‘Rule Change’), the Representative does not put forward their personal views or those of other members. The legal advice the Representative receives – and the position they take in respect of the Trustee’s application - would be the same whoever the Representative is.
The Trustee continues to consider member responses which are sent to HSBCPensions@eversheds-sutherland.com. The Trustee shares them with the Representative and his legal advisers and the Bank and, in due course, will share them with the Court. The Trustee also continues to update the FAQs to reflect those responses.