British lender HSBC Holdings has confessed its Swiss private bank’s failings on allowing wealthy clients to dodge taxes following allegations by media reports.
The bank said, "We acknowledge and are accountable for past compliance and control failures."
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News outlets including French newspaper Le Monde and Britain’s The Guardian published allegations that the Swiss subsidiary of HSBC helped wealthy clients evade taxes.
The news outlets cited documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) via Le Monde.
The Guardian report alleged HSBC’s Swiss bank of routinely allowing clients to withdraw cash, often in foreign currencies which were of little use in Switzerland, marketing schemes to allow wealthy clients avoid European taxes, and helping conceal undeclared accounts from domestic tax authorities.
The lender added that its Swiss division had not been fully integrated into HSBC following its purchase in 1999, which led to "significantly lower" compliance standards.
