Posted by Hari on Friday, February 19, 2016 with 1 comment | Labels: banks, Bonus, FCA, regulation, taxation
KJ and Fee explain...
SOURCE GUARDIAN: HSBC to keep its
headquarters in London, after concessions from chancellor
HSBC is to keep its headquarters in the UK after a 10-month
review during which time the government has made a series of changes regarded
as favourable to the bank. After the May 2015 Conservative election victory the
chancellor, George Osborne, has backed away from creating rules intended to
toughen up the regime for holding senior bankers to account. He had said he
would reverse the burden of proof but has reverted to the more usual system of
bankers guilt having to be proven. He also changed the system for taxing banks.
A bank levy on balance sheets, which hit HSBC hardest of all the banks, is
being scaled back and an eight percentage point corporation tax surcharge on
profits is regarded as hitting its smaller rivals harder. Analysts have
calculated that the changes mean HSBC will pay £300m to the exchequer – down
from £1bn under the previous bank levy system.
SOURCE BLOOMBERG: HSBC sued over drug
cartel murders after laundering probe
Families of U.S. citizens murdered by drug gangs in Mexico
have sued HSBC, claiming the bank can be held responsible for the deaths
because it let cartels launder billions of dollars to operate their businesses.
The lawsuit brings fresh scrutiny to the Mexican activities of HSBC, which in
2012 paid $1.9 billion to resolve a criminal investigation into whether it
violated U.S. sanctions laws and laundered at least $881 million on behalf of
drug cartels. The new case recounts a series of murders in 2010 and 2011 in
horrific detail, arguing that the bank should be held to account for them under
the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act. Lesley Redelfs was four months pregnant when she
and her husband, Arthur, were shot by the Juarez cartel after leaving a
children’s birthday party hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, where
she worked. Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Jr. were special agents for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, driving to Mexico City when they were run
off the road by two vehicles filled with hit men from the Los Zetas cartel, who
then opened fire. Avila survived. Rafael Morales Jr. was abducted on his
wedding day, as were his brother and uncle, and the three died of asphyxiation
after members of the Sinaloa cartel wrapped duct tape around their heads. HSBC
already is among banks facing a lawsuit from families of U.S. soldiers killed
or injured by attacks in Iraq on accusations that the firms helped Iran process
transfers and finance Hezbollah and other militant groups.
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Or, as the advert goes, 'Should've gone to Iceland!'
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