British call-centre workers are not up to the standards set by their colleagues in India or China, HSBC chief executive Sir Keith Whitson has said.

In an unusually outspoken address at the time of the bank's results announcement on Monday, Sir Keith lavished praise on processing-centre staff in Asia.

"They're quicker at answering the phone, highly numerate and keen to come to work every day," he said.

"Staff are hugely enthusiastic about their jobs, they dress well. A lot have degrees."

While not directly criticising British workers, Sir Keith insisted that Asia staff, who do the work for one-fifth of the usual wage, were "exceptional".

Asian drift

Sir Keith's remarks will come as a blow to HSBC staff at its call centres in Swindon, Hemel Hempstead and Leeds, who have seen some work diverted to Asian facilities over the past few years.

Sir Keith insists British jobs are not at risk

HSBC says it has some 1,500 workers under contract in Asia, mainly in a call centre in Hyderabad, India, but that it has not had to reduce its British workforce proportionally.

The controversy will have been raised further by Sir Keith's views on credit-card fraud, which he implied was a particular fault of Hong Kong Chinese.

Some, he said, "get as many cards as they can and emigrate."

Sir Keith characterised credit-card defaulters as "smartarses who think they can get away with it."