{"id":3876,"date":"2015-02-23T23:27:04","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T23:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=3876"},"modified":"2015-02-23T23:27:04","modified_gmt":"2015-02-23T23:27:04","slug":"hsbc-boss-kept-millions-in-secret-swiss-bank-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/hsbc-boss-kept-millions-in-secret-swiss-bank-account\/","title":{"rendered":"HSBC boss kept millions in secret Swiss bank account"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stuart<\/a>Global bank HSBC, embroiled in a tax-dodging scandal at its Swiss division, said on Monday that Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver held a Swiss bank account as it reported a 15 per cent drop in net annual profits.
\nThe Guardian newspaper had reported Sunday that Gulliver, who has vowed to reform the troubled bank, kept millions of dollars in a secret Swiss account.
\n\u201cMr Gulliver holds an account in Switzerland,\u201d the London-listed lender said in a statement emailed to AFP.
\n\u201cHe opened the account in 1998 when he was living and working in Hong Kong to hold bonus payments,\u201d it said, adding that the account was in the name of a Panamanian company \u201cfor reasons of confidentiality\u201d.
\n\u201cFull tax was paid in Hong Kong on the bonus payments. Mr Gulliver has voluntarily declared his Swiss account to UK tax authorities for a number of years.\u201d
\nGulliver had moved to Britain from Hong Kong in 2003, and has since paid \u201cfull UK tax on the entirety of his worldwide earnings\u201d, it added.
\nAllegations that London-based HSBC\u2019s Swiss private banking arm helped clients in more than 200 countries dodge taxes on accounts containing 180 billion euros ($204 billion) have caused a political storm in Britain before a tightly-fought general election in May.
\nHSBC apologised again on Monday over so-called \u201cSwissLeaks\u201d allegations that have tarnished the reputation of the British banking giant.
\n\u201cThe recent disclosures around unacceptable historical practices and behaviour within the Swiss private bank remind us of how much there still is to do and how far society\u2019s expectations have changed in terms of banks\u2019 responsibilities.\u201d it said.
\nThe bank also revealed on Monday that 2014 earnings plunged in a \u201cchallenging year\u201d that was blighted by fines and compensation for mis-selling.
\nEarnings after taxation or net profits sank 15 percent to $13.7 billion (12.0 billion euros) in 2014, HSBC said in a separate results statement.
\nThat compared with $18.7 billion in 2013 when its performance was also boosted by disposals.
\nPre-tax profits tumbled 17 per cent to $18.7 billion, which dashed expectations and sent HSBC\u2019s share price sliding more than 3.0 per cent in morning deals in London.
\n\u201c2014 was a challenging year in which we continued to work hard to improve business performance while managing the impact of a higher operating cost base,\u201d Gulliver said in the earnings release.
\n\u201cProfits disappointed, although a tough fourth quarter masked some of the progress made over the preceding three quarters,\u201d Gulliver added.
\n\u201cMany of the challenging aspects of the fourth quarter results were common to the industry as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

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