The client, Sigue Corp, was a money processor in California, the report said. In 2008, the company agreed to a so-called deferred prosecution with the U. Justice Department and other U. agencies where it admitted to allowing millions of dollars of suspect transactions between 2003 and 2005. Undercover U. officers, in a sting, even moved money through the company, explicitly telling Sigue agents they were moving illegal drug proceeds, the report said. A day after the agreement was announced, David Bagley, the head of HSBC compliance, sent a handwritten note to another bank official, asking, "Obvious question--I assume they are not our customer. " Bagley is scheduled to testify on Tuesday at the Senate hearing. In fact, Sigue was an HSBC customer, and bank officials internally discussed whether to close the account. One compliance official recommended it should be shut down. In the end, the bank kept doing business with Sigue. In 2009, the Justice Department said Sigue had satisfied the requirements of the agreement and a criminal case was dismissed.
While the big British bank's problems have been known for nearly a decade, the Senate probe detailed just how sweeping the problems have been, both at the bank and at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a top U. S. bank regulator which the report said failed to properly monitor HSBC. "The culture at HSBC was pervasively polluted for a long time, " said Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the U. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, a Congressional watchdog panel. The report comes at a troubling time for a banking industry reeling from a multi-country probe into the manipulation of global benchmark rates. Last month, rival British bank Barclays Plc agreed to pay a $453 million fine to settle a U. -British probe into the rigging of the benchmark interest rate known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. The Senate probe provides a rare look at how HSBC responded when confronted with numerous cases of suspect money flows. The report caps a year-long inquiry that included a review of 1.
If you're prepping for an interview for a job as an accounts payable clerk, you probably know to expect role-specific accounts payable interview questions. "Which accounting software do you have experience with? " and "Can you tell me about past invoice disputes and how you've resolved them? " will likely be asked. You'll probably also get some common interview questions, such as, "What are your strengths and weaknesses? " or "Where do you see yourself in five years? " What happens, though, if your interviewer throws in a wild card or two? Here are some tips and examples to help you make the most of any oddball accounts payable interview questions that may come your way. Don't let simple questions throw you for a loop Sometimes, the simple can be the toughest to answer. For example, a question about the salary you seek could get you flustered if you haven't thought about the answer ahead of time. Before any interview, be sure to review the 2018 Robert Half Salary Guide to get a sense of the compensation you can command for an accounts payable clerk.
Ask questions. The employer isn't the only one who should ask good questions. Consider what questions you can ask in the interview. Finally, remember that you're unlikely to knock yourself out of consideration if you say you identify more with cats than dogs or reveal that you have only a chocolate bar and jar of mustard in your refrigerator. Above all, be honest, be thoughtful and be yourself when faced with unexpected questions. Skilled accounts payable clerks are in demand in cities across the United States. See our open accounts payable jobs in your city or in these: Accounts payable clerk jobs in Boise, Idaho Accounts payable clerk jobs in Kansas City, Mo. Accounts payable clerk jobs in Philadelphia, Penn. Accounts payable clerk jobs in Austin, Texas Accounts payable clerk jobs in Chicago, Ill.
To conceal the transactions, HSBC affiliates used a method called "stripping", where references to Iran are deleted from records. HSBC affiliates also characterized the transactions as transfers between banks without disclosing the tie to Iran in what the Senate report called a "cover payment". HSBC "failed to take decisive action to confront these affiliates and put an end to the conduct, " the report said. Between 2001 and 2007, more than 28, 000 transactions were identified by an outside auditor for HSBC that potentially could have run afoul of laws that prohibit transactions with sanctioned countries. Of those, 25, 000 involved Iran. A smaller number required additional analysis to determine if violations of U. regulations had occurred, the report said. At the heart of HSBC's failings was the fact that it served as a hub for smaller financial firms needing access to the global banking system, the report said. In one example detailed in the Senate investigation, HSBC continued to do business with one client that admitted to U. law enforcement that it had failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering system.
HSBC agreed to continue to provide the bank bulk shipments of U. dollars until 2010 when HSBC exited entirely the bulk-cash business. U. OPERATIONS The focus of the Senate probe was HSBC's U. operations, which has its main office in New York. HSBC used the U. unit as a selling point to clients outside the United States, touting its ability to handle U. dollar transactions. Among HSBC's problems, the report described the bank's compliance division as unable to battle the suspect money. High turnover of top compliance officials made it difficult for reform to take hold, the report said. Employees were "overwhelmed" by a mounting number of suspect transactions that needed review. "We're strapped and getting behind in investigations, " one bank official wrote in June 2008. By that time, HSBC was cutting costs to offset losses tied to subprime home loans and the brewing financial crisis. In 2010, one disgusted top compliance official threw up his hands and quit after less than a year on the job, according to the report.