HSBC chief apologises for tax practices

HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver has apologised to MPs for “unacceptable” practices at the bank’s Swiss subsidiary which he said had caused “damage to trust and confidence” in the company.

Mr Gulliver’s apology came as he and HSBC chairman Douglas Flint were grilled by MPs on the UK parliament’s Treasury Select Committee over what committee chair Andrew Tyrie said were “extraordinary” revelations about tax-avoidance activities linked to the Geneva branch in the mid-2000s.

The HSBC chief executive also defended his personal decision to be paid by the bank via a Panamanian company with an account in the Swiss private bank, insisting that the arrangement was not designed to avoid tax, but to protect his privacy against other members of staff who were able to view employees’ accounts via the company computer system.