£50m bank boss defends record

FATCAT Stuart Gulliver THE fatcat boss of HSBC claimed he was leaving the bank in better shape, despite overseeing £11billion in fines.

The banking giants said they could be hit with another £1billion in penalties from claims their Swiss private bank helped wealthy clients evade tax.

Yet Stuart Gulliver, who stepped down yesterday, insisted: “HSBC are in a stronger and better position” than when he took over in 2011.

Since then, he has raked in £50million in pay and perks – including £6million last year – and is sitting on a £27million mountain of shares. The bank also paid out £2billion in bonuses last year, taking the total since 2011 to £16.5billion, while 117 UK branches were closed in 2017. Profits leapt 141 per cent to £12.3billion last year, fuelled by their Asian arm.

David Hillman, spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said: “The bank have been untouched by the austerity they helped cause.”

HSBC said £45billion has been paid to shareholders through dividends during Gulliver’s reign. Euro ................................................... 1.100 Australian Dollar ........................... 1.710 Bulgarian Lev ............................... 2.053 Canadian Dollar ............................. 1.701 Croatian Kuna ............................... 7.907 Czech Koruna .............................. 26.777 Egyptian Pound .......................... 21.365 New Zealand Dollar ..................... 1.829 Polish Zloty .................................... 4.331 South African Rand ................... 15.749 Swiss Franc .................................... 1.260 Thai Baht ........................................ 41.411 Turkish Lira .................................... 4.961 UAE Dirham .................................... 4.933 US Dollar ......................................... 1.362