Hong Kong — On Tuesday, a Hong Kong tribunal imposed a record fine of HK$400m ($51m) on the private-banking unit of HSBC in a case related to the sale of Lehman Brothers-linked structured financial products between 2003 and 2008. The country’s securities and futures commission (SFC) had originally imposed a penalty of HK$605m in 2015 on the bank for its failure to meet "principles-based regulatory standards" at that time, which was later appealed by HSBC. The SFC had started its investigation into the issue after some HSBC private-banking clients’ complained of losses arising from investments in structured financial products of Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The SFC said on Tuesday that the $51m fine was the highest ever imposed on a financial institution in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong securities and futures appeals tribunal said in its order that HSBC’s private-banking unit was "culpable of material, systemic failings in its marketing and sale of derivative produ...
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