Banks In HK Reviewing Their Investment Plans: BBC

International banks in Hong Kong are said to be reviewing their investment plans and are drawing up emergency measures to evacuate staff from the territory if necessary, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The public broadcaster said that directors of financial services firms have told it, on condition of anonymity, that their business in Hong Kong is suffering as violence on the city's streets escalates.

A source at one of the world's biggest international banks told the BBC that the institution expects Hong Kong revenue to be down by 25 percent in the last quarter of its financial year.

The station said financial companies in the SAR are also becoming increasingly concerned for the safety of their staff.

These worries have intensified since the reported arrest of a Citi banker this week following a scuffle with police officers.

A video shared online shows a man telling officers in English that he is a director at Citibank and his office is just nearby. He tries to leave but is grabbed by officers, and the man waves around a baton he has managed to take off one of the officers as they wrestle him to the ground and arrest him.

Saturday's BBC report said one hedge fund has now given staff a "panic button" app, and evacuation plans have been drawn up for staff and their families if the situation deteriorates in Hong Kong even further.