HSBC leaving the UK? Five charts showing why it might actually mean it this time April 24, 2015 HSBC chairman Douglas Flint raised eyebrows on markets today when he announced the bank's board had begun a review into whether it should continue to be headquartered in the UK. The news sent shares up more than three per cent as investors showed their appreciation for the (possible) move. More on this story: HSBC launches review [...]
Bye-bye HSBC? The British bank is eyeing a move abroad April 20, 2015 HSBC will look into upping sticks and moving its headquarters out of London once the regulatory environment becomes clearer, its chairman said today. "We are beginning to see the final shape of regulation, the final shape of structural reform and as soon as that mist lifts sufficiently we will once again start to look at [...]
Giles Morgan on how sport’s dynamic blaze of colour can bring a bank’s values to life April 19, 2015 HSBC’s Global Head of Sponsorship and Events tackles his firm’s support for rugby, right down to the grassroots level. Giles Morgan is not your average spokesman for a major sporting sponsor. He’s knowledgeable, forthright, and is more than happy to put a few noses out of joint if he doesn’t like what he sees going [...]
HSBC gears up to shake up its board of directors April 14, 2015 British banking giant HSBC is planning to shake up its boardroom, as long-serving directors prepare to leave the institution. Non-executives Rona Fairhead and Simon Robertson are expected to serve on the board for another year, and the bank’s headhunters are looking for candidates to join the top committee. HSBC is understood to retain recruiters MWM Consulting [...]
Nina Ricci heiress Arlette found guilty in HSBC Swiss tax fraud leaks case April 13, 2015 Arlette Ricci, heiress to the Nina Ricci perfume and fashion fortune, has been found guilty of tax fraud in a case prompted by a leaked list of people who used the services of HSBC in Switzerland. A Paris court sentenced Ricci, the 73-year-old granddaughter of co-founder Nina Ricci, to three years in jail with two [...]
General Election 2015: Labour’s non-dom tax change would hit some of UK’s biggest banks April 12, 2015 Labour's pledge to scrap non-dom tax status would affect top employees at some of London’s leading banks, including RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. Under the non-domicile rule, those with a permanent home abroad currently do not have to pay UK tax on overseas earnings. Only their UK income is taxed, although they have to pay £30,000 [...]
HSBC pledges to fight criminal probe in France April 9, 2015 FRENCH magistrates yesterday announced a criminal investigation into HSBC’s Swiss Private Bank, reviving the row which embarrassed bosses at the UK-based global giant. But HSBC said it would appeal against the decision. The authorities set bail for the bank at €1bn (£724m), a level which the lender described as “unwarranted and excessive”. The investigation relates [...]
French magistrates launch formal criminal investigation into HSBC’s Swiss private bank over tax claims April 9, 2015 Britain's biggest bank HSBC has been put under formal criminal investigation by the French authorities for the activities of its Swiss private bank. In a statement to the market, the bank said it had been informed of the probe, into “alleged tax-related offences” between 2006 and 2007, by the French magistrates. At that time, a [...]
HSBC’s next headache is relocation, relocation, relocation April 1, 2015 If Douglas Flint had a tenner for every time he had been asked about the future location of HSBC’s headquarters, he’d have almost enough to pay its contribution to the bank levy by himself. Flint has many other things on his mind right now: the reputational fallout from the Swiss tax evasion affair, sluggish returns [...]
Bank of England stress test: British lenders assessed against global economic crunch March 30, 2015 Britain's biggest banks have to prove they could withstand a global economic crunch, under a stress test unveiled by the Bank of England yesterday. The fictional scenario is based on real fears that a slowdown in China and renewed recession in Europe could hit the UK economy and its banks. The six biggest banks [...]