Financial Services

HSBC fined almost £64m for anti-money laundering failings

Bank did not dispute findings including inadequate monitoring of terrorist financing

The HSBC UK headquarters are seen at the Canary Wharf financial district of London. Photograph: Reuters

Fri Dec 17 2021 - 07:51

Britain's financial regulator said on Friday that it had fined HSBC £63.95 million (€75.1 million) for failings in its anti-money laundering processes.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had found that three key parts of HSBC's transaction monitoring systems showed serious weaknesses over a period of eight years from March 31st, 2010 to March 31st, 2018.

The regulator said HSBC had made a string of failings, including inadequate monitoring of money laundering and terrorist financing scenarios until 2014, and poor risk assessment of “new scenarios” after 2016.

HSBC was also found to have had inappropriate testing and did not check the accuracy and completeness of data in monitoring systems.

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"These failings are unacceptable and exposed the bank and community to avoidable risks, especially as the remediation took such a long time," said Mark Steward, FCA executive director.

HSBC did not dispute the findings, resulting in its penalty being reduced from £91 million, the regulator said.

“We are pleased to resolve this matter, which relates to HSBC’s legacy anti-money laundering systems and controls in the UK,” a spokesperson said.

“HSBC is deeply committed to combating financial crime and protecting the integrity of the global financial system.” – Reuters

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