Oli Scarff/Getty Images
A car has a wheel clamp attached in Kensington on August 17, 2010 in London
HSBC paid out around £390 million ($$610 million) in November to the
There's "a criminal investigation in the US, as well as investigations by the civil competition authorities in the EU, Brazil and South Korea," HSBC said in its half-year earnings report today.
A with pretty much all the other major global banks out there, FX manipulation isn't the only legal issue on HSBC's plate. Here are a few more:
- Authorities in the EU and US are probing the bank's precious metals trading operation.
- HSBC faces court cases and an EU investigation into its activities in the credit derivatives industry, over allegations the bank helped restrict new entrants into the credit default swap pricing industry.
- The US is investigating whether HSBC helped clients avoid tax, which the bank said could extent to other jurisdictions "in the light of the recent media attention regarding these matters."
- HSBC is being sued for failing to protect clients who lost money investing with Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff. The litigation could cost the bank anything up to $800 million (£511 million).
- HSBC could also get hit with a fine up to $500 million (£320 million) for mis-selling identity theft protection products in the US.