Page 148 - Bank Case Studies

evade tax through its Swiss private bank and allegations of

rigging foreign exchange and precious metals markets. (5)

“At HSBC, the bank did more than avert its eyes to

a few shady transactions. It repeatedly defied

government orders as it made a conscious, years-

long effort to completely stop discriminating

between illegitimate and legitimate money.” (2)

CEO, Stuart Gulliver, said he was “profoundly sorry” and
accepted responsibility for past mistakes and insisted the

bank was now a “fundamentally different organisation”.

Gulliver's Travails

HSBC's legal bills have crimped the bank's profitability
under outgoing Stuart Gulliverhart Title

5
4.5
4
3.5
3
$ billion 2.5 2

1.5
1
0.5
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Chart 1: Source: Bloomberg data – Costs of HSBC’s legal settlements