Following recent leaked files confirming yet again that HSBC had helped over a hundred thousand individuals [3]evade taxes and/or engage in outright international money laundering, evasion which may have involved the CEO Stuart Gulliver himself [4], leading to a scandal which has caught some of the most prominent names in UK media, with allegations flying that the Telegraph was biased in its coverage of the HSBC scandal due to a loan made to its owners [5], all of which is nothing surprising per se, but merely the culmination of decades of HSBC enabling criminal activity around the globe [6](and collecting a hefty fee for its help), it is time for another song and dance to appease the angry mob, if only for the next week or so until the popular attention span shifts over to the next scandal du jour.
Which for today means that two top HSBC execs will appear briefly in UK parliament to testify before the Treasury committee, in a televized webcast set to start momentarily.
As the Guardian summarizes, CEO Stuart Gulliver and Chairman Douglas Flint will be grilled about the revelations that HSBC’s Swiss arm helped wealthy customers avoid taxes and conceal millions of dollars of assets. They’ll also face questions on how the division was able to advise clients on how to circumvent domestic tax authorities, as exposed by leaked files from 2005 to 2007.
The committee extended the session from 45 minutes to 2 hours last night, and announced that Gulliver would be attending; originally Flint was due to be alone. Both men can expect tough scrutiny over Swiss tax revelations, and the wider culture at one of the world’s largest banks.
However, that is about all they can expect, because if there is anything the New Normal, and Eric Holder, have taught us is that aside from the occasional slap on the wrist, no banker will go to prison for any crimes. Ever.
Gulliver, who said on Monday that the revelations were a “source of shame and reputational damage”, will probably also be asked why he used a Swiss bank account himself. He will deny that this was in order to avoid paying taxes himself.
Live webcast of the hearing below:
