Global bank HSBC is pressing regulators to allow its investigators to share confidential information across all 70 of its international affiliates to improve anti-money laundering compliance, the head of its threat mitigation unit said.
HSBC should have done more to vet the anti-money laundering compliance controls of banks it acquired in Mexico and Switzerland, the institution's former chief executive officer told British lawmakers Tuesday.
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.
The U.K. is considering a money laundering investigation of HSBC's Swiss operations in light of recent allegations that the bank maintained accounts for financial criminals, a British official said Wednesday.
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.
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.
The U.S. government's landmark case against HSBC Holdings Plc for knowingly turning a blind eye to financial crime is seemingly fated to end much as it began: complex and messy.
A newly implemented plan by HSBC Holdings Plc to export U.S. anti-money laundering standards to its global offices faces a difficult but common challenge for big banks: approximately half of its estimated 80 affiliates are located in bank secrecy jurisdictions.
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.