Time and again I have taken HSBC to task at more than one Annual General Meeting for matters on which I had issues. However, I have no issue with the way it diligently takes its time to verify before effecting payment. Some local businessmen, I would think, might not take too kindly to uncalled-for advice on the way they conduct their business, even though at times they are less than delicate with clients, when the nature of their business calls for the utmost respect and deference. So too, although they are entitled to their opinion, as a small shareholder in HSBC I expect no less diligence from this local and worldwide bank, even when some sharks try to bring pressure to bear.

In other jurisdictions, HSBC has been fined handsomely for transferring payment involving long-standing clients without taking the time to see that everything is in order. However, to its credit, this is not the case – as far as I am aware – in Malta and I hope it will continue to respond to its shareholders’ justifiable expectations without cutting corners and endangering its good reputation. Contrary to what some sharks assert, in Malta, unlike in other countries, it is relatively easy to switch banks. Perhaps some want to have their cake and also want to eat it?

I know businessmen with millions of euros in turnover and a decades-long relationship with another bank that refused them a loan while it was – and still is – awash in unutilised cash deposits, according to its annual report. To the credit of professional banking staff and the relevant good banking regulations, in less than a week these businessmen transferred their accounts to HSBC and found the advance they required. They received the disbursement they desired which made good business sense both for them and for HSBC, as the monthly repayment amounted to less than the monthly rent these particular businessmen were forking out without the advantage of payments to purchase an asset and not rent one!

HSBC has brought about a culture change, not just in Malta but in the world of banking. Competition is getting stiffer and although, as a shareholder, I have my gripes, at the same time I do give credit where it is due – and HSBC deserves it. As evidence, I point to the profits it distributes yearly to its shareholders and the millions it pays in taxes – taxes it diligently pays as a good corporate governed business, perhaps much more than some other businesses who specialise in company and VAT tax avoidance as “dead men tell no tales”.

J. Bonett Balzan

BALLUTA