The agency was one of five shortlisted by HSBC, along with BBDO, Grey, Saatchi & Saatchi and the incumbent, JWT.
Sources close to HSBC claimed the agency was asked to drop out because of recent changes to its management team.
It leaves McCann parent company IPG without a role in the contest, which is now between the two WPP shops, Omnicom and Publicis Groupe.
A McCann spokesperson said: "It was a mutual agreement with HSBC that we decided to pull out of the pitch. We’re in a pitch with another global bank."
HSBC called the media and creative review in October after eight years with WPP agencies JWT and Mindshare.
The bank is this week reported to be in talks about selling its 15.6 per cent stake in China's second-biggest insurer, Ping An.
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
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