HSBC boss says he is right person to run bank

[LONDON] HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver has insisted he is the right person to run HSBC and is committed to completing the revamp of Europe's biggest bank that he began in 2011.

Speaking to the members of Britain's Public Accounts Committee on Monday, Mr Gulliver said he should continue as chief executive of HSBC because he was successfully restructuring its operations by cutting its size and reducing its complexity.

The under-fire banker also said his personal tax affairs were in order and he had never evaded paying tax in any authority in a past Swiss bank account.

Mr Gulliver came under hostile questioning from a panel of UK lawmakers about his personal tax affairs after HSBC admitted failings in controls at its Swiss private bank. This followed media reports saying HSBC helped wealthy customers conceal millions of dollars of assets in a period up to 2007.

REUTERS