HSBC has declined to comment about reports that the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority has told it that it is not making enough headway in tackling non-financial risks and risks to do with financial crime and staff conduct.

A spokesperson demurred when Compliance Matters asked her to say whether Samir Assaf, the head of the bank’s global banking and markets division, had informed senior colleagues of this during a conference call last Tuesday. The assertions came from one story by Reuters and one story by Bloomberg, the former quoting its conversation with a source and the latter quoting from anonymous people "familiar with the discussion." HSBC's spokesperson added: "They are the same story. Reuters followed up on the Bloomberg story. We are not commenting on that story."

Bloomberg also claims to have seen documents that suggest that the UK’s Banking Standards Board (of which HSBC is a member) conducted a survey earlier this year that found that out of seven investment banks, HSBC’s ranked last when staff were asked about colleagues “acting honestly and ethically,” “flexing ethical standards to make career progression” and “turning a blind eye to inappropriate behavior.” This, it claims, was despite an initiative by John Flint, the old CEO, to improve the bank’s culture with something called the “healthiest human system.” HSBC is not commenting on that specific point either.

Among the BSB's members are: Aldermore, Atom Bank, Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, C Hoare & Co, Citi, EFG Private Banking, Handelsbanken, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Masthaven, Morgan Stanley, Rabobank, RBS, Redwood Bank, Reliance Bank, Santander, Schroders, Shawbrook Bank, SBI UK, Tesco Bank, Unity Trust Bank and Vanquis Bank.