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HONG KONG Business conditions for Chinese manufacturers continued to improve in December, with HSBC’s initial Purchasing Managers’ Index rising to a 14-month high of 50.9, according to the survey results released Friday. The reading compares with HSBC’s final PMI print of 50.5 for November. A reading above 50 signals an improvement in activity. HSBC’s initial or “flash” PMI reading is based on responses from 85% to 90% of the total respondents in the monthly survey. Hongbin Qu, HSBC’s chief economist for China, said the improvement in the latest survey results confirmed that China’s “ongoing growth recovery is gaining momentum, mainly [...]

HSBC is spending $ 700m on a global “know your customer” programme, aimed at preventing money-laundering.HSBC is spending $ 700m on a global programme to target money-launderingThe bank has been accused of laundering $ 881m in drug-trafficking proceeds from Mexican and Colombian drug cartelsHSBC has agreed to pay $ 1.9bn to U.S. authorities following a 5-year investigation in which 9m documents were reviewed(Financial Times) — HSBC will spend $ 700m on a global “know your customer” programme, as part of a 26-point plan agreed with US regulators to settle money laundering and sanctions breaches.The UK bank, which signed up to [...]

LONDON HSBC Holdings must employ an independent monitor to oversee its compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions rules after admitting it failed to prevent the laundering of criminal cash, Britain’s financial regulator said. HSBC was on Tuesday hit with a record $ 1.92 billion fine by U.S. prosecutors to settle a multi-year probe into failing to enforce anti-money laundering rules. Britain’s Financial Services Authority said HSBC must also establish a committee of its board to oversee matters relating to anti-money laundering, sanctions, terrorist financing and proliferation financing and review its policies and procedures to ensure all parts of the bank [...]

The U.S. Justice Department filed a felony criminal information against HSBC Holdings Plc’s HSBC Bank USA in federal court in News York’s Brooklyn on Tuesday. The information is a widely expected precursor to a deferred prosecution agreement under which the bank would pay $ 1.9 billion to resolve money laundering charges. (Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

HSBC Holdings Plc has agreed to pay $ 1.92 billion to settle a multi-year U.S. criminal probe into money-laundering lapses at the British lender, the largest penalty ever paid by a bank. HSBC admitted to a breakdown of controls and apologized in a statement announcing it had reached a deferred-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, as was first reported by Reuters last week. “We accept responsibility for our past mistakes. We have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again. The HSBC of today is a fundamentally different organization from the one that made [...]

HSBC Holdings Plc is expected to become the first bank to admit to both money-laundering lapses and U.S. sanctions violations on Tuesday as part of a settlement of around $ 1.8 billion with law enforcement agencies, according to people familiar with the situation. The settlement, which will be in the form of a deferred-prosecution agreement, is the largest by far that a U.S. or European bank has agreed to amid a crackdown in the United States. Reuters reported last week that London-based HSBC would be forced to pay the $ 1.8 billion and that criminal charges would be deferred. In [...]

U.S. regulators are set to announce a $ 1.9 billion settlement with HSBC Holdings PLC to resolve probes that the bank ignored possible money laundering, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday citing sources. Top compliance and banking officials at HSBC were quizzed in July at a Senate hearing after a top lawmaker produced a report showing that the global bank allegedly allowed drug traffickers, terrorists and rogue states to launder several billions of dollars because of poor controls. Citing sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that the deal could be announced as early as Tuesday.

An HSBC bank branch is pictured in central London on August 1, 2011.HSBC is expected to pay $ 1.9 billion to settle money laundering accusationsStanChart agreed to pay $ 327M to settle allegations it violated US sanctions law The broad allegations against HSBC were detailed in a July report by the U.S. Senate Bank spokesperson said: “We are co-operating with authorities in ongoing investigations.”(Financial Times) — HSBC and Standard Chartered, the two biggest UK banks by market value, are to pay more than $ 2.5bn in fines as part of record settlements with US authorities over money laundering allegations.People familiar [...]

NEW YORK/ HSBC Holdings Plc might pay a fine of $ 1.8 billion as part of a settlement with U.S. law-enforcement agencies over money-laundering lapses, according to several people familiar with the matter. The settlement with Europe’s biggest bank – which could be announced as soon as next week – will likely involve HSBC entering into a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The potential settlement, which has been in the works for months, is emerging as a test case for just how big a signal U.S. prosecutors want to send [...]

LONDON HSBC said its strategy and planning boss John Flint is to take over as head of retail banking and wealth management (RBWM) next year to replace veteran banker Paul Thurston, who is retiring. Europe’s biggest bank said Flint will become chief executive on January 1 of RBWM, one of the bank’s four global businesses. Previously known as personal financial services, RBWM has more than 50 million customers and made an operating profit of $ 4.3 billion last year, a fifth of the group. Flint, 44, joined HSBC in 1989 and has worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, India, [...]