U.S. officials told an appellate court on Thursday that plans to unseal a report on HSBC's anti-money laundering efforts since 2012 could undercut future efforts to police the financial sector.
Not long ago, U.S. settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars for violations of American law by a foreign bank seemed unlikely, if not out of the realm of possibility altogether. Then came the $780 million deferred prosecution agreement with UBS AG in 2009.
Although headline-grabbing settlements north of $1 billion have become the new normal for depository institutions operating in the United States, how those deals are impacting bank behavior is still unclear, at least for now, according to Brandon Garrett.
British lawmakers Monday sharply criticized HSBC’s leadership for failing to prevent widespread tax evasion by clients and take responsibility for the institution’s compliance lapses.
Facing parliamentary criticism, HSBC's top executives conceded Wednesday to "unacceptable" failures of its Swiss private banking unit that led to likely account abuses and subsequent reputational damage.
London-based HSBC Holdings Plc could find itself paying more to rectify past compliance problems following disclosures this week about the bank's services for clients with criminal ties, according to analysts.
An expected strengthening of data privacy standards in Europe and elsewhere could hinder efforts by multinational banks to share information on suspicious clients with their foreign affiliates, say current and former U.S. officials.
Criticism of the U.S. Justice Department's apparent decision to forego indictments of HSBC and its employees misses a larger point: the department probably couldn't have won convictions if it tried, say prosecutors.
Standard Chartered Bank's pending settlement with U.S. authorities for violating sanctions against Iran demonstrates the high-stakes compliance challenge inherent in holding U.S. dollar clearing accounts, say analysts.
In the wake of regulatory crackdowns and multiple criminal probes, financial institutions operating in Mexico are spending millions of dollars to upgrade their anti-money laundering programs, say bank staff.
In the wake of Senate hearings on HSBC and New York State's $340 million settlement with Standard Chartered, the popular press is giving anti-money laundering issues a lot more attention. That's good and bad news for compliance officials.
The New York banking regulator that imposed an unprecedented $340 million penalty on a London-based bank this month is likely to be equally tough on six other foreign banks identified as being the subject of similar investigations, say current and former government officials.
Most news accounts of Tuesday's U.S. Senate inquiry into HSBC Holding Plc's compliance failings led with the bank's anti-money laundering compliance chief's announced resignation before lawmakers. But what he meant, it turns out, is that he is only taking another job inside the bank.
HSBC Holdings Plc's compliance chief will step down from his current role, following allegations that the bank failed to better police the anti-money laundering programs of its subsidiaries and affiliates.
HSBC Holdings Plc will close all of its U.S. accounts in the Cayman Islands after a congressional investigation found that the Caribbean branch functioned solely as a dollar-clearing shell bank.
Poor anti-money laundering controls on affiliates and problematic oversight allowed a global bank to process tens of trillions of dollars with little to no compliance checks, according to a U.S. Senate subcommittee.
U.S. senators will question representatives from HSBC Holdings Plc and its financial regulator next Tuesday over the findings of an unreleased report outlining concerns about the bank's anti-money laundering compliance program.
Even prior to the disclosure last month by HSBC Holdings Plc that it would "likely" be the subject of a formal enforcement action related to anti-money laundering (AML) and other violations, things did not look good for the bank, according to Saskia Rietbroek, a partner with nomoneylaundering.com.
An appellate court decision rejecting a Zimbabwean couple's demand to know the names of HSBC employees who identified them in a suspicious transaction report could also establish new compliance requirements for British banks.
As pressure mounts against HSBC Holdings for purported widespread violations of U.S. regulations, the U.K.-based bank may find it has little wriggle room to negotiate itself out of a costly settlement, say analysts.