HSBC Fined £6.28 Million for Unfair Treatment of Customers in Financial Difficulty
Company: HSBC Holdings plc
Summary
In May 2024, the UK Financial Conduct Authority fined HSBC UK Bank plc, HSBC Bank plc and Marks and Spencer Financial Services plc a combined £6,280,100 for failures in the treatment of customers who were in arrears or experiencing financial difficulty. The FCA found that between June 2017 and October 2018 HSBC did not always properly consider customers' individual circumstances, did not consistently perform appropriate affordability assessments before agreeing repayment arrangements and sometimes took disproportionate action against customers who had fallen behind. The regulator attributed the failures to deficiencies in policies, procedures, staff training and controls for identifying unfair customer treatment. HSBC identified the issues in 2018, notified the FCA and undertook remediation. Source: Financial Conduct Authority https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-fines-hsbc-6-million-over-treatment-customers-financial-difficulty