We all do our laundry. UBC students do it, celebrities do it, but does HSBC do it as well?

HSBC’s Mexico unit was accused of being inadvertently involved in the money laundry business by allowing the bank to be used by money launderers,cartels and terrorist financiers. Senate investigators alleged that the substantial sums of cash moved by HSBC from Mexico to the US could only be explained by an involvement proceeding from illegal narcotics. The statements made by the US bank regulators claiming that HSBC is lenient and deficient with anti-money laundering policies only reinforce these constant criticisms.

So what should  John Root, HSBC’s senior manager of group compliance, do? Despite his and HSBC’s failed attempts at changing Mexican culture, corruption stills reigns in HSBC’s realm. One would imagine though that such a highly esteemed bank would be completely against corruption, however as  David Bagley, HSBC’s head of compliance since 2002, said:

 “Despite the best efforts and intentions of many dedicated professionals, HSBC has fallen short of our own expectations and the expectations of our regulators,”.

Thus leading to question: will this “pervasively polluted” culture ever stop infecting businesses? Or when will the top dogs obtain the guts to put a stop to it?

Sources:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/832b582a-d0f2-11e1-8a3c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz26KmBNgGT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/17/hsbc-executive-resigns-senate