Happy new year – then again…

Timon Molloy, Editor (timon.molloy@informa.com)

Stuart Gulliver, HSBC CEO and the rest of the board must be ruing the bank’s erstwhile lackadaisical approach to AML, at least in the US and Mexico [1], as they anticipate a fine of US$1.5billion [2]. In the Q3 2012 management statement, which saw US$800m added to existing provisions of US$700m against US AML, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) breaches, Mr Gulliver warned that “the final amount of the financial penalties could be higher, possibly significantly higher, than the amount accrued.”