New York - HSBC Holdings PLC is re-assigning its North American head of global banking and markets, Patrick Nolan, after a monitor appointed to oversee the firm in the wake of a $1.9 billion money-laundering settlement faulted its culture.
The move is among steps senior HSBC executives agreed to take after the monitor found some employees inappropriately resisted criticism during an internal review, US prosecutors said in an April 1 report on the monitor’s progress, which identified the executive only by title. The title is held by Nolan, according to HSBC’s website. The re-assignment can occur once regulators approve a successor, according to the report.
HSBC agreed to outside scrutiny to avoid prosecution and resolve claims in 2012 that it enabled money laundering by Latin American drug cartels. Robert Sherman, a spokesman for the London-based bank, declined to comment on the re-assignment, and Nolan didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. The New York Post identified him as the executive earlier Wednesday.
“The Justice Department recognised in its letter that HSBC has made material progress toward meeting the most stringent compliance standards imposed to date upon a global financial institution,” Sherman said in a statement.
Bloomberg