Villains of 2011: Part 7

Updated
HSBC
HSBC

7. HSBC and NHFA advisers
HSBC suffered an ignominious end to the year with a record-breaking £10.5m fine, the largest fine the FSA has ever issued in the retail sector. Its care fee adviser, Nursing Home Fees Agency (NHFA), paid numerous UK charities and care advice websites for customer leads so its advisers could boost their commission by selling investments. Age UK admitted it had made money by passing customer details to the now defunct advice firm.

HSBC was fined after an FSA investigation found 2,485 people were mis-sold investments by NHFA. The FSA said "a sample of [NHFA] customer files found unsuitable sales had been made to 87% of customers".

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