Under-fire HSBC closes in on £15billion profit as analyst warns tax avoidance row ‘is yet to fully unravel’

Under-fire banking giant HSBC will next week report profits of nearly £15billion – or a staggering £40million a day.
The group is expected to post annual results for 2014 in line with the previous year when it updates investors on Monday.
But the bumper figures are likely to be overshadowed by the ongoing row over allegations that its Swiss private banking arm helped thousands of wealthy clients avoid tax.

HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver has admitted in a memo to staff that the tax avoidance allegations are ‘painful’ and the bank ‘sometimes failed to live up to the standards’ expected by society.

The bank suffered a further setback this week when prosecutors raided its Geneva offices in a probe into suspected aggravated money laundering amid allegations it helped to hide millions of dollars for drugs and arms dealers.
Analysts said all eyes will be paying close attention to any statement the bank makes in relation to the Swiss investigation.
‘HSBC had its name dragged through the mud in the wake of the Swiss tax evasion scandal,’ said David Madden, an analyst at IG.
‘The London-listed bank was already under pressure from rising costs, lower trading income and legal costs, and now the investigation into the bank’s Swiss operation has delivered a fresh blow.
‘The scandal is yet to fully unravel for HSBC.’