Context
The FCA has fined HSBC UK Bank plc, HSBC Bank plc and Marks and Spencer Financial Services plc (HSBC) £6,280,100 for failures in its treatment of customers who were in arrears or experiencing financial difficulty.
Key points to note and next actions
The failings were caused by deficiencies in HSBC’s policies and procedures and the training of their staff, as well as inadequate measures to identify and address instances of unfair customer treatment. FCA’s Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight said: ”People must be able to trust their lenders to treat them fairly when in financial difficulty. It deserves credit for identifying the issue and putting it right. The cost it has incurred in doing so, however, should be a warning to all lenders that they need to understand their customers’ circumstances so as not to make a bad situation worse.’