The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shelved another banking inquiry, as it is revealed that an investigation into alleged aiding of tax-evasion by HSBC has been dropped, just days after it scrapped its probe into banking behaviour and culture. Reports indicate that fears are beginning to rise again that ministers and regulators in Britain are becoming more lenient towards banks as the economy recovers. We are very closely monitoring the ability of the bank overall … and we think significant improvements have been made”. The move seems to be in contrast to regulators outside the UK, who have taken a more aggressive approach; Swiss authorities fined HSBC last year £ 1 billion for helping clients evade taxes on their offshore accounts.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shelved another banking inquiry, as it is revealed that an investigation into alleged aiding of tax-evasion by HSBC has been dropped, just days after it scrapped its probe into banking behaviour and culture. Reports indicate that fears are beginning to rise again that ministers and regulators in Britain are becoming more lenient towards banks as the economy recovers. The move seems to be in contrast to regulators outside the UK, who have taken a more aggressive approach; Swiss authorities fined HSBC last year £ 1 billion for helping clients evade taxes on their offshore accounts.