汇丰因误导英国老年客户被重罚 HSBC fined £10.5m for mis-sale of bonds to help old pay for care
| HSBC has been fined a record £10.5m and must pay £29.3m in compensation to thousands of elderly and disabled UK customers who were mis-sold complex financial products designed to pay for long-term care. | 汇丰(HSBC)被处以创纪录的1050万英镑罚金，且必须向数千名英国老年和残疾客户支付2930万英镑赔偿金，原因是它的子公司NHFA向这些客户不当销售了复杂的金融产品，而这些客户本打算靠这些投资来支付自己的长期护理费用。 |
| In what the UK Financial Services Authority described as "particularly serious" and "systemic" violations, HSBC's subsidiary NHFA advised nearly 2,500 customers to put £285m in investment bonds between 2005 and 2010 to fund long-term care. | 在2005至2010年间，NHFA建议近2500名客户向投资债券投入了2.85亿英镑，以支付他们的长期护理费用。英国金融服务管理局(FSA)形容这是"特别严重"和"系统性"的违规行为。 |
| A subsequent review found that 87 per cent of the sales were unsuitable, the FSA said. Many of the customers – average age 83 – were too old and ill to benefit from the products, which are typically recommended for people with a five-year investment horizon. | FSA表示，随后的一项评估发现，上述销售有87%是不合适的。很多客户——平均年龄为83岁——年岁太大且身体状况不佳，无法从这些产品中获益。NHFA一般向客户建议的产品投资期为5年。 |
| The investment bonds were designed to grow capital while generating income to cover care costs. Most customers were already in care and some were forced to tap savings or pay penalties for dipping into the bonds. | 这种投资债券旨在实现资本增值，同时创造收入来支付护理费用。多数客户已在接受护理。一些客户被迫动用存款，甚至面临罚款，来投资这些债券。 |
| "This type of behaviour undermines confidence in the financial services sector," said Tracey McDermott, FSA acting enforcement director. The average customer invested £115,000. | FSA执法部门代理主管特雷西•麦克德莫特(Tracey McDermott)表示："这种行为破坏了人们对金融服务行业的信心。"这些客户的平均投资额为11.5万英镑。 |
| HSBC bought NHFA in 2005 but did not discover compliance problems until 2009, the FSA said. The bank shut the subsidiary earlier this year and earned a 30 per cent discount on its fine by settling the case early. | FSA称，汇丰在2005年便收购了NHFA，但直到2009年才发现合规问题。汇丰在今年早些时候关闭了NHFA，并因提前了结此案减免了30%的罚金。 |
| "This should not have happened and I am profoundly sorry that it did," said Brian Robertson, chief executive of HSBC in the UK. The fine is the fifth largest in FSA history and the largest for retail failings. | 汇丰英国首席执行官布赖恩•罗伯逊(Brian Robertson)表示："这件事本不该发生，我对此深表遗憾。"1050万英镑的罚金是FSA史上开出的金额第五高的罚单，也是针对零售银行违规行为开出的金额最高的罚单。 |
| Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga, which represents the over 50s, criticised HSBC for "taking unfair financial advantage of trusting elderly people" and questioned whether the fine was large enough. | 代表50岁以上人士的养老保险公司Saga的总裁罗斯•阿尔特曼(Ros Altmann)批评汇丰"利用容易相信别人的老年人这一不公平金融优势获利"，并对罚金的规模是否够大提出质疑。 |
| "One has to wonder how many such scandals have to occur before the regulator acts to prevent them happening in the first place rather than trying to sweep up the after- | 她表示："人们不禁要想，还要爆发多少类似的丑闻，才能迫使监管机构采取行动从源头杜绝此类丑闻发生，而不是在事后去清理它们的影响。" |
| effects," she said. | 译者/梁艳裳 |
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