HSBC Watch News Release Forum Index
Forum Name: - News
Topic Title: Bank executives face tough questioning
Sat Oct 23, 2004 12:35 am
LONDON (Reuters) - Bank executives face tough questioning in the next two weeks from a powerful parliamentary committee seeking an explanation for delays in giving credit card customers a better deal.
The chief executives of Lloyds TSB and HBOS appear on Tuesday, and the heads of Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC's UK business are up a week later.
The committee roughed up the bank bosses a year ago for overcharging, reckless lending and not being clear on rates for credit cards. The lawmakers want to know why the banks have been slow to make requested changes, a committee member told Reuters.
"I should think it (the committee) will be suspicious," said Nigel Beard, a member of parliament for Labour. The banks' inaction "is symptomatic of an industry not attuned to thinking about things from the customer's point of view".
In this arena, HSBC simply carries over the attitude of their wholly owned subsidiary Household International, which never was attuned to thinking about things from the customer's point of view.
We monitor customer trends for possible violations of Regulation Z and other possible illegal actions.