Abstract This research aimed at analyzing the discursive strategies of HSBC’s Brazilian and English banking advertisements, in an economic crisis context, from the perspective of moral economy. The research was qualitative and comparative, based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of Fairclough (2007, 2003, 2012); Chouliaraki & Fairclough (1999); Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001); Sayer (2000, 2004); Bennett (2013a); and Rocha (2010). The results revealed the existence of an economic-moral discourse forged, contradictory, in intersection with multimodal strategies, reinforced by the new rhetoric of capital, with the aim of co-opting consumers, in favor of the interests of banks for the permanence of capital.