AMARAVATI: AP Fact Check an initiative by the Andhra Pradesh Government has debunked the tweet shared by  Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) national general secretary and MLC Nara Lokesh on Twitter of an article written in the Telugu vernacular ABN Andhra Jyothy paper, about London-based banking giant HSBC shutting down operations in Visakhapatnam. Nara Lokesh in his defamatory tweet attributed it to the Andhra Pradesh Government is completely misleading. As stated in the AP Fact Check website the news is completely is missing in details as HSBC had decided on the closure of the Vishakhapatnam branch in 2016 itself and was moving to a BaaS (Banking as A Service) model.

This decision was way before the COVID pandemic as HSBC Bank had already made plans to close down most of its retail branches and consolidate the 50 branches across 29 cities to 26 branches across 14 cities in India including the Vizag operations.

The bank also closed many London-based branches recently. HSBC has also announced on its official website that the bank is strategically repositioning US retail business towards international banking and wealth management and Moving to a Banking as A Service Model (BaaS) model. In the process, HSBC has also started closing down branches in USA and UK too

CLICK HERE For The Complete Explainer About HSBC Operations

It is not new for the TDP official social media handles and the Yellow media to post fake and misleading information about the State administration, any incidents, or about political leaders, without verifying the authenticity of such content. However, the news that they circulate on social media and media corners leads to widespread panic and doubt among the public at large.

Earlier the TDP posted a misleading claim about temple works in a village in AP which was also fake.

Also Read: Fact Check AP: TDP Fake Claims On Sri Neelamani Durga Ammavari Temple Works Busted