In the wake of furore over terrorist links and money laundering controls failings that have cast a cloud over banking group HSBC, its chairman has vowed to change the way business is done by reducing complexity and implementing a more stringent set of global standards. The bank was recently chastised by a US senate committee [...]

The U.S. Justice Departments is reportedly working on a case against HSBC bankers they say have laundered money from Mexican drug gangs. Still at the beginning of the investigation, the Justice Department is building its case against the bank. The investigation began in August of 2010, when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency [...]

Global Witness’ new report Undue Diligence names some of the major banks who have done business with corrupt regimes. By accepting these customers, banks are assisting those who are using state assets to enrich themselves or brutalise their own people. This corruption denies the world’s poorest people the chance to lift themselves out of poverty [...]

A group of major international financial institutions has joined with The Climate Group to launch a new code to guide best practice across the sector to deal with the risks and opportunities of climate change. The new code, titled The Climate Principles, is the first comprehensive industry framework for the sector’s response to climate change [...]

The Justice Department has expanded its criminal investigation into foreign banks that sell offshore private banking services to include Credit Suisse and HSBC, according to people briefed on the matter. The investigation into the two European banks is an outgrowth of an inquiry by federal prosecutors and regulators into UBS, the Swiss bank giant, over [...]

Le moteur de recherche sur internet Google, la première banque européenne HSBC et le câblo-opérateur Liberty Global se sont associés dans un projet destiné à fournir un accès internet haut débit à faible coût à trois milliards de personnes vivant en Afrique et dans d’autres pays émergents. Le projet, baptisé O3b Networks, vise la connexion [...]

A fresh writedown for UBS. An ethical writedown, that is. The below chart compiled by Covalance – an ethical research outfit. As you’ll notice, UBS – generally a poorly behaved child – has been very naughty since mid-April. (…) HSBC, meanwhile, is good as gold. Last year major positive issues regarding the Banking industry have [...]

Interactions of banks with governments are increasingly criticized in terms of ethics; meanwhile, environmental initiatives and philanthropic donations are the industry’s main positive news cows, states a report published today by Geneva-based ethical reputation research firm Covalence – Covalence Banking Industry Report 2008. (…) The historical EthicalQuote ranking calculated since 2002 sees Banks dropping from [...]

Banking giant HSBC has come under attack after proposing changes to its pension schemes which union leaders claim will leave staff in a “precarious” financial position. The bank maintained that the proposals involved an investment in pensions and would improve its flexible benefits package. The suggested changes include increasing the normal retirement age, currently 60 [...]

Geneva-based Covalence is publishing today its third annual ethical reputation ranking, giving the best ranked companies as well as those companies which have made the most progress in 2007. An overview of emerging and decreasing topics is also given. The main results across sectors are: > Rio Tinto, Dell and Marks & Spencer enter top [...]