A French bank in the City of London has become embroiled in an alleged racism scandal after a senior lawyer kept his job despite an investigation finding that he referred to an Asian colleague as “Hu She”.
BNP Paribas carried out a disciplinary inquiry into the senior lawyer at the end of last year after he allegedly bullied and made racist remarks about fellow employees.
In emails seen by The Telegraph, Benedict Foster, head of legal for debt and equity at BNP’s London office, referred to the woman of Asian descent as “Hu She” on several occasions.
The emails reveal that he referred to another colleague as “Biryani”, which was a reference to an Indian colleague, according to two sources. Mr Foster denies that this term was used in reference to an Indian colleague and BNP’s investigation found in his favour.
He also referred to other staff members as “c—s”, while another senior lawyer at the bank used the phrase “cheeky c—k” to refer to an Asian woman, the emails show.
Following the internal investigation, Mr Foster received a sanction from BNP bosses but remains in his job. The bank concluded that neither his use of “Hu She” or “Biryani” amounted to racism or discrimination.
Yet the revelations will raise serious questions about BNP’s culture and how it treats allegations of misconduct.
It comes after a female BNP banker won a sex discrimination case against the firm in 2019 after telling an employment tribunal that she suffered years of bullying and was paid less than men in comparable roles.
The tribunal was told that drunk male colleagues placed a witches’ hat on Stacey Macken’s desk, while she was also told crude sexual stories by senior staff. Ms Macken is currently suing BNP for £3.4m.
Last year, the bank said it would use the case as an “opportunity to strengthen its processes to prevent a similar situation arising again”.
Bosses at BNP did not report Mr Foster’s comments to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as they did not believe they amounted to racial slurs.
The SRA’s code states that if managers of an SRA-regulated firm are of the view that comments “are capable of amounting to serious misconduct or which you believe should be brought to our attention for investigation” then they “have an obligation to report the individual(s) to us”.
BNP’s own code of conduct states that “employees shall not discriminate against any person within the group”.
It adds: “Employees must reject all forms of discrimination, bullying or harassment against other employees… based on factors such as race, colour, creed, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability or political opinion.”
BNP Paribas declined to comment.
Mr Foster said: “I accept that I have said things to colleagues that were unacceptable. While a full investigation found no racist intent on my part, I understand that certain remarks made by me caused offence.
“I can only apologise for any distress I have caused, accept the appropriate sanction from my employer and commit to doing better in future. I am undertaking additional training and I am committed to ensuring that I deal with colleagues in a more respectful manner.”
The case comes in the wake of a diversity push in the finance industry following the black lives matter movement, which sparked global protests.
Last year, BNP held “Speak Up” training sessions for staff, which stressed the importance of promptly reporting conduct issues such as racism to management or HR.
Regulators are also increasingly targeting language as a way to encourage a more inclusive culture in the Square Mile. In July, the City watchdog said it would ban “non-inclusive” words, including the term “Chinese walls”, in its rules and guidance.
In a separate case last year, a female Barclays banker won an employment case after her line manager was deemed to have used “sexist language” by referring to women as “birds”.
