Finance committee  Yes, that is correct. They would be customers of the other country. We have group policies that specifically provide that we do not condone or support tax evasion. So yes, we would rely on our counterparts to ensure appropriate compliance with applicable laws. You have to rememb

Finance committee  As I had mentioned earlier, HSBC Private Bank Suisse is a separate legal entity that is governed by Swiss laws. They are unable to share any information with HSBC Bank Canada, so I am not aware of the contents of the list, what names are on that list, or whether people have evade

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, I haven't walked through the actual account-opening process for some time now. My understanding is that, no, there is not a specific focus on bringing to the attention of somebody hoping to open up an account that the person needs to comply with the law, whether it

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, HSBC does operate in a number of countries. I can't tell you off the top of my head how many of those countries may or may not be on the grey list. But when we refer customers to another country, it is always under the framework that HSBC has a global set of polic

Finance committee  Certainly it's something that we wouldn't object to.

Finance committee  In Canada, that is not something that we currently do.

Finance committee  I'm trying to think back. I mean, we do have a number of terms and conditions that all customers sign when they open up an account, whether it be an investing account or a banking account. I cannot recollect, off the top of my head, whether or not we have a specific term that say

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, in response to the question, I am a representative of HSBC Bank Canada, and so I am limited in what I can speak for the HSBC group. I'm advised that there has been an investigation into what caused the leak and appropriate actions have been taken to ensure that da

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, in the hypothetical example, no, there is not an intermediary, and there is no sharing of information as between the two entities. I mean, it's important to recognize that most countries, I think, have instituted privacy laws, as we have here in Canada, that are v

Finance committee  Mr. Chairman, as the representative of a financial institution, I'm really not in the position to provide any expertise on that particular topic.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, honourable members. I'm appearing on behalf of HSBC Bank Canada. My comments are based on a written statement that has been provided to the clerk. I'm going to refer to that statement as I make my presentation. I am the chief compliance o

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We appreciate the opportunity to appear today before the committee to make this statement and to answer any questions you may have about HSBC Bank Canada. I understand that HSBC has been called today to provide some information about the use of offshore