Yes! The system works. No really, banks regulating themselves really works and we’ve more proof of it this week as yet another fine was issued, this time to one of our trusted high street financial institutions. HSBC has been fined £10.5m by the Financial Services Authority for mis-selling investment bonds to elderly people in care.
It fills you with pride doesn’t it, the UK banking system allowing companies to mis sell financial products to elderly people in care, even worse; the products that were mis sold were supposed to fund care costs. A total of 2,485 customers of NHFA, a HSBC subsidiary, were advised to invest, with 87% being sold an unsuitable product.

The subsidiary has been closed down as "HSBC no longer feels is consistent with its main banking business"
The investments were sold between 2005 and 2010, to people with an average age of 83 who were already in care, or entering long-term care, each customer invested an average of £115,000 intended to fund future care costs.
“Contrary to everything we stand for”
Speaking about the mis selling, Brian Robertson, chief executive of HSBC Bank, said: “I fully accept that NHFA failed to give suitable financial advice to some of their customers”
He added: “This should not have happened and I am profoundly sorry that it did. We have high values here at HSBC and this runs contrary to everything that we stand for. That is why when we suspected something was not right at NHFA, we took action.”
Lets hope other banks are as honest
The most worrying aspect of this case, aside from a financial adviser taking over £100,000 each off around 2000 elderly people, all of whom need the money to pay for their care, is that if HSBC hadn’t fessed up to the mis selling it may never have been punished. HSBC said it identified problems at NHFA, closed the subsidiary to new business in July, and alerted the FSA. Let’s hope other Banks are as honest after they are so completely dishonest, otherwise they’re all dishonest and that is simply unthinkable.
HSBC will pay £29.3m compensation to the families of victims and will be contacting those affected.
Other Recent Fines (November)
- £6.3m: Private bank Coutts fined for describing AIG bonds as low-risk
- £5.95m: UK arm of Credit Suisse fined for advice failures when selling complex financial products

After fighting a long, hard battle, many customers were excited when banks finally were forced to start repaying customers who filed 


