LONDON – Britain’s financial regulator today handed a large fine to HSBC for failings in its anti-laundering procedures.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined the bank £63.95 million (RM358.4 million) after detecting serious weaknesses in three key areas of its monitoring systems.
The FCA said HSBC had failed correctly to evaluate scenarios deployed in money laundering and terrorism financing between March 2010 and March 2018.
FCA executive director Mark Steward said the failings were “unacceptable and exposed the bank and community to avoidable risks”.
HSBC did not challenge the ruling, which saw its punishment reduced from an initial 91 million pounds.
The FCA noted that HSBC had since put in place a large-scale programme to correct weaknesses in its systems.
In mid-morning trading in London, HSBC shares gave up 0.58% to 445.65 pence. – AFP, December 17, 2021