HSBC slapped with £57.4m fine for deposit protection failures

HSBC bank has been fined £57.4m by the Bank of England after admitting serious failings in protecting customer deposits.

The BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority said the Asia-focused bank failed to accurately identify deposits that were eligible for Britain’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme - which protects customer cash up to £85,000.

It added that the fine was reduced from an original £96.5m after HSBC co-operated with the PRA's investigation.

The failings occurred for HSBC Bank (HBEU) between 2015 and 2022, and for HSBC UK Bank between 2018 and 2021.

“The serious failings in this case go to the heart of the PRA’s safety and soundness objective. It is vital that all banks comply fully with our requirements around preparedness for resolution," said PRA chief executive Sam Woods.

"HBEU fell far short of its obligations in this area and failed to disclose its failings to us in a timely manner. These failures led to today’s action, including the significant fine.”

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com