Australia’s corporate watchdog is suing the local unit of HSBC Holdings over allegations that the bank failed to protect customers from criminal scams.

Australia's corporate regulator has initiated legal action against the local affiliate of the global bank HSBC , claiming it failed to correctly respond to about 950 reports of customers losing close to a million dollars or more.

HSBC Australia is being sued by market regulator ASIC after the bank allegedly failed to adequately protect customers from scams.

HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC)(OTCPK:HBCYF) is facing a lawsuit by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for allegedly failing to protect its customers from scams.  According to the regulator,

The corporate watchdog is suing banking giant HSBC over a scam that netted $23 million, alleging it failed to protect 950 Australian customers.

ASIC claims some customers of the international bank lost $90,000 due to scammers, after warning it of suspicious activity on their accounts.

HSBC received about 950 reports of unauthorised transactions between January 2020 and August 2024, resulting in customer losses of about A$23 million, says the regulator.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission claims HSBC's failures led to $23 million lost over four years.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said that scammers cost HSBC Australia customers A$23mn ($14.6mn) between 2020 and 2024 with some customers losing more than A$90,000. The regulator said the bank was slow in its response to the scams,

Australia’s markets watchdog sued HSBC Bank of Australia Ltd. for failing to protect customers who lost millions of dollars in scams.