Regulations
By Maheen Hernandez
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Real People, Real Losses. ASIC's court filings put names — or at least faces — to the damage. A 51-year-old dental technician.
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ASIC's Wider Push Against Bank Misconduct. HSBC's case sits inside a much larger regulatory sweep. ASIC pulled in AU$349.
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HSBC's Troubles Aren't Limited to Australia. HSBC was dealing with regulators on the other side of the world at the same time.
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Australia's corporate watchdog is taking HSBC to Federal Court, pushing for a AU$35 million fine over what it says was a prolonged failure to protect customers from impersonation…
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HSBC knew about the problem years before it did anything meaningful. The bank spotted impersonation scams as early as May 2021 but didn't put adequate controls over internal…
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ASIC's court filings put names — or at least faces — to the damage. A 51-year-old dental technician. A 25-year-old architectural assistant. A Victorian couple.
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HSBC has since launched a remediation program. The bank compensated AU$21.5 million to affected customers and recovered AU$6.5 million on their behalf.
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The gap between what was lost (AU$34.6 million) and what's been compensated and recovered (roughly AU$28 million combined) is still pretty significant.
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HSBC's case sits inside a much larger regulatory sweep. ASIC pulled in AU$349.8 million in civil penalties in the second half of 2025 alone.
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Related: GAO Pushes FDIC to Fix Blockchain Oversight Before Cracks Widen
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And ASIC Chair Sarah Court has been direct about what the HSBC case means beyond Australia. She's framed it as a global precedent — a signal to banks everywhere that they carry a…
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It's worth noting this is ASIC's first court action specifically alleging a bank failed to protect customers from scams. First of its kind.
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The AU$35 million figure is still pending court approval. A judge has already flagged concerns about whether it's sufficient — so there's a real chance the final penalty comes in…
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HSBC was dealing with regulators on the other side of the world at the same time. In the UK in 2024, the Prudential Regulation Authority handed the bank a £57.
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So HSBC's regulatory headaches aren't a one-country story. The bank's facing scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions for what looks like a pattern — slow responses, gaps in…
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