Union leaders yesterday called for a tightening of a publicly funded scheme intended to lure jobs to Scotland after a £1m grant was awarded to the richest bank in UK history. HSBC, which makes £1m profit every hour ($1,740,249 USD), will receive the regional selective assistance (RSA) grant from the Scottish Executive in return for creating up to 257 new jobs in Edinburgh.
The announcement prompted anger among many MSPs, who argued the money would have been better spent on smaller, more needy companies. One of the criteria for qualifying for RSA is that a company must be unable to go ahead with its plans without it, yet HSBC last year posted what was then the largest-ever profit for a British-based firm – £10.1bn.
Consumer advocates in the United States claim HSBC is making questionable profits from predatory lending after buying Household International, a firm likened to Ameriquest in predatory lending cirlces. HSBC purchased Household International in late 2002 and the deal closed in early 2003.
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