When Saudi Arabia wanted to demonstrate it was open again for global investors after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, officials turned to a long-time banker to the kingdom: HSBC.

In April, the British bank helped arrange a $12bn bond deal for Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s crown-jewel oil company, attracting $100bn in orders and cooling talk of any investor boycott over human rights. Two weeks later, HSBC chief executive John Flint attended a financial conference in Riyadh and waxed lyrical about the country’s economic program, saying “it’s wonderful to see the kingdom of Saudi Arabia take control of its finances”.