LONDON: The Bank of England said on Tuesday it had fined HSBC 57.4 million pounds ($73 million) for “serious failings” in protecting some customer depositors over several years.
The BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said the bank failed to accurately identify deposits eligible for Britain’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) - which protects customer cash up to 85,000 pounds.
The rules require lenders to ensure critical information is held in order for the FSCS to compensate customers if a firm fails.
“The serious failings in this case go to the heart of the PRA’s safety and soundness objective,” said Sam Woods, deputy governor of the Bank of England and CEO of the PRA.
“It is vital that all banks comply fully with our requirements around preparedness for resolution.”
The failings occured at HSBC Bank plc between 2015 and 2022, and at HSBC UK Bank plc between 2018 and 2021, the regulator said.
The bank cooperated with the investigation and agreed to resolve the matter, qualifying for reductions to its fine - which would otherwise have been 96.5 million pounds, the statement added.