In December 2021 the FCA fined HSBC Bank plc £63,946,800 for failings in the automated systems it used to monitor transactions for signs of money laundering.
The FCA found serious weaknesses in three key parts of the processes HSBC used to monitor hundreds of millions of transactions every month, over eight years from 2010 to 2018. It said the systems were not properly tested or updated, and that HSBC did not check whether the data feeding them was accurate.
HSBC did not contest the findings and qualified for a 30% settlement discount. Without it, the fine would have been £91,352,600.
The fine came days after the FCA fined NatWest about £265 million in a separate money-laundering case.
HSBC’s position
HSBC said it was deeply committed to combating financial crime and had been running a large remediation programme under FCA supervision.
The evidence
2 sourcesLast checked 2 November 2026. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we’ll correct it.