Swiss bank's problems erode HSBC's profit and reputation

London

HSBC's Swiss private bank has seen a steep drop in profits since 2008 and even fell to a loss in 2013, showing how problems in the business have hit the British bank's bottom line as well as its reputation.

Its Swiss private bank lost US$291 million in 2013, the last set of published full-year results, and only scraped a US$14 million profit in the first half of 2014. HSBC is due to release 2014 full-year results on Feb 23.

HSBC this week admitted failings in compliance and controls in its Swiss private bank after media reports alleged it helped wealthy cus…