(9 October 2006 – UK) HSBC has hosed down speculation that it is considering shifting its headquarters from London for tax reasons, saying a strong regulatory environment outweighs the benefits of lower tax regimes.The bank was responding to an article in The Guardian which quoted a senior HSBC staff member saying the UK was becoming less attractive from a taxation perspective.
The bank responded saying no review of its headquarter was due for another 18 months.
AN HSBC spokesperson did appear to fire a warning shot, however, saying the UK needed to be aware that a good tax regime was “one of its competitive advantages”.
“It would be possible to go somewhere where there is zero corporation tax which would save us in the region of ₤400 million a year but those places tend not to have regulators as complex and aware as the FSA (Financial Services Authority),” the bank said.
“As much as banks moan about regulation from time to time, having your HQ based with a good and globally renowned regulator builds customer credibility. If we were to lose that then we would have a problem.”