HSBC execs ‘failed to raise’ mis-selling concerns

The adviser, who declined to be named, said the revelation raised questions as to why the lender - fined £10.5m by the FSA in December for sales by its NHFA subsidiary - would not have noticed anything wrong with the processes at the time.

The adviser claimed one senior manager had sought advice on long-term care products for relatives.

He also claimed that others had sought guidance from NHFA advisers on the care industry.

The adviser said: “HSBC cannot claim that the bank was unaware of our processes.”

HSBC, which acquired NHFA in 2005 for £9m, flagged evidence of potential mis-selling to the FSA in 2009.

The fine initially related to product sales between 2005 and 2009, since extended to NHFA’s early days in the 1990s.

Asked about whether senior HSBC staff had used NHFA-advised products, Philip Spiers, the NHFA’s former managing director who left the firm in 2008, said he was not involved in the advice side but added: “When HSBC acquired NHFA, it did so because of the specialist advice.”

A spokesman for HSBC said: “We would never comment about individual cases, but it is worth re-iterating that the majority of customers who dealt with NHFA will have received appropriate and relevant advice. However, there were a small number of individuals where it appears as though inappropriate advice was given and these centred around the sale of investment bonds. We are currently liaising with these customers so that we can examine the advice given and put things right if necessary.”

It comes after a Freedom of Information Act request from FA showed the FSA made supervisory visits to NHFA three times before the fine was issued over the mis-selling of investment products related to long-term care.