HSBC Australia to lift standards
(2 August – Australia) HSBC Australia has vowed to lift standards in the country by introducing top global governance standards throughout its local arm.
HSBC’s Australia boss, Paulo Maia, gave the undertaking as HSBC's recent run of profit growth in Australia came to a halt, with earnings sliced by a soured loan linked to a large corporate client.
HSBC's Australian bank delivered a June-half profit of A$87 million, down 34 percent from the same time last year.
Profit from the bank's Australian retail business was up 43 percent to A$50 million and institutional lending was up 13 percent to A$77 million, but its commercial banking arm swung to a A$33 million loss due to the bad-debt hit.
Maia told BusinessDay that not too much should be read into an increase in the Australian bad debts.
While he declined to be specific about the impairment, which related to a single large customer, he said there were no signs of broader structural problems.
''These things happen from time to time in banking,'' he said. The Australian economy remained resilient while underlying Asian demand for resources continued, he added.
HSBC's Australian lending book was up 4.2 percent to A$19.5 billion, led by commercial lending.
Maia noted that the group had ''gone out of its way'' to apologise to the US authorities and the public in general ''for the issues that have happened''.
The banking major is attempting to overhaul its systems after being caught up in scandals on two continents.
HSBC, one of the world's biggest banks, this week apologised for ''shameful'' systems breakdowns that failed to stop it laundering money for terrorists and drug barons. It has set aside US$700 million (A$668 million) for potential fines in the US.
It also earmarked another $US1.3 billion for mis-selling financial products in Britain.
HSBC's Australian bank delivered a June-half profit of A$87 million, down 34 percent from the same time last year.
Profit from the bank's Australian retail business was up 43 percent to A$50 million and institutional lending was up 13 percent to A$77 million, but its commercial banking arm swung to a A$33 million loss due to the bad-debt hit.
Maia told BusinessDay that not too much should be read into an increase in the Australian bad debts.
While he declined to be specific about the impairment, which related to a single large customer, he said there were no signs of broader structural problems.
''These things happen from time to time in banking,'' he said. The Australian economy remained resilient while underlying Asian demand for resources continued, he added.
HSBC's Australian lending book was up 4.2 percent to A$19.5 billion, led by commercial lending.
Maia noted that the group had ''gone out of its way'' to apologise to the US authorities and the public in general ''for the issues that have happened''.
The banking major is attempting to overhaul its systems after being caught up in scandals on two continents.
HSBC, one of the world's biggest banks, this week apologised for ''shameful'' systems breakdowns that failed to stop it laundering money for terrorists and drug barons. It has set aside US$700 million (A$668 million) for potential fines in the US.
It also earmarked another $US1.3 billion for mis-selling financial products in Britain.
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