Hong Kong Tribunal Rejects HSBC Appeal, Upholds HK$400 Million Fine
November 21 2017 - 6:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Julie Steinberg
A Hong Kong tribunal on Tuesday upheld the bulk of a fine
imposed on a unit of HSBC Holdings PLC that would be the largest
ever meted out by Hong Kong's securities regulator.
The city's Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal ordered HSBC
Private Bank (Suisse) SA to pay 400 million Hong Kong dollars
(US$51 million) for misconduct surrounding products sold to HSBC's
private banking clients between 2003 and 2008. The products
included notes that were issued and/or guaranteed by Lehman
Brothers Holdings Inc.
The tribunal also suspended the unit's license to advise on
securities for one year and partially suspended its license to deal
in securities for one year.
Hong Kong's securities regulator, the Securities and Futures
Commission, had in 2015 fined the unit 605 million Hong Kong
dollars. The regulator alleged in a civil case that the unit should
have told clients about risks associated with Lehman Brothers in
the summer of 2008, and said certain private banking clients were
sold financial products that were too risky for them. HSBC last
year appealed the fine and the revocation of its license.
The tribunal said Tuesday in its written decision that there had
been a "failure to ensure suitability of product" for clients, and
that the sale of such products had put "many clients at unnecessary
risk of loss."
The fine "provides a stern warning that principles of
professional conduct must be adhered to," the tribunal said.
HSBC in a statement said its private banking unit "has stringent
processes and controls which are in line with the evolving
regulatory landscape, and has enhanced its investment advisory
model to further align investments to client needs and to deepen
clients' understanding of the nature and risks of the
products."
The bank said the suspension of the licenses won't affect it, as
its private banking unit no longer operates under the legal entity
the suspension covers.
Ashley Alder, chief executive officer of the securities
regulator, said in a statement that HSBC's systems and controls
"fell significantly short of the standards expected of them" and
required "very substantial sanctions."
Write to Julie Steinberg at julie.steinberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2017 07:34 ET (12:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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