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In a strongly worded statement, HSBC's chairman
Douglas Flint called on international regulators to clarify what
they expected of bank staff after a recent spate of record fines
for misconduct had left them fearful of retribution.
"There is ... an observable and growing danger of
disproportionate risk aversion creeping into decision-making in
our businesses as individuals, facing uncertainty as to what may
be criticized with hindsight and perceiving a zero tolerance of
error, seek to protect themselves and the firm from future
censure," Flint said.
HSBC also flagged heightened geopolitical tension as it reported
a 12 percent drop in pretax profits in the six months to the end
of June to $12.3 billion, just below an average forecast of
$12.5 billion from 15 analysts polled by the company.
The fall was mainly due to a weak first three months of the
year, when profits fell 20 percent from a year ago when the
bank's revenues were boosted by asset sales, and reflected lost
revenues as a result of closing or selling businesses.
HSBC is in the second phase of a turnaround plan that began in
2011, aiming to make the bank less complex, more efficient and
able to deliver better returns and dividends for shareholders.
The bank has axed more than 40,000 jobs and sold or closed 60
businesses, which it said has delivered annual cost savings of
more than $5 billion.
But the asset sales have hurt revenues and replacing that is one
of the biggest challenges facing HSBC.
HSBC's shares initially dropped 2 percent following the results
but recovered to trade up 0.2 percent at 0855GMT.
(Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
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