One day this spring, Naina Lal Kidwai, head of the beleaguered HSBC India, defended her position before a banker-friend thus: “I can put my hand on my heart and say HSBC India is clean.” The acquaintance, a retired senior banker, said Kidwai swore that the Indian arm was uninvolved in misdemeanours that HSBC is accused of internationally.
Kidwai arrived spectacularly at the top of HSBC India in 2006. In just a few years, bigger storms hit HSBC. Today, it faces a global stream of investigations, charges and indictments in the US, France, Argentina, Mexico and, for the first time, India. Here, the big question being asked is: did HSBC help clients open accounts in HSBC Suisse, its private banking arm, and did those clients evade tax? An HSBC spokesperson declined comment for this report, saying, “We have cooperated continuously with the authorities and we continue to cooperate.”