The Two Faces of HSBC

This past Monday I wrote to you about the unquestionable, indisputable, astonishing in depth degree of honesty of HSBC. 
I told you that it is the second richest bank in all the world with gazillions of Dollars, Euros, Pounds
etc on deposit from untold oodles of depositors.
And, most important, I told you that they admitted "in writing" that they owed me money and that I could have it back simply by calling them or writing them a letter.
This debt is at the very least over 10 years old and must have accumulated substantial interest by now.
I had forgotten that I have a credit balance in my HSBC MasterCard account.
Fortunately, HSBC did not forget and with this unfathomable degree of honesty they offered to re-imburse me.

What do I read in today's Newspaper ?
I cannot believe such an accusation: It is claimed that they assisted thousands of depositors to evade Taxes, which they ( the depositors )  would have had to pay to their own Governments.
Apparently we are talking about BILLIONS  of Dollars owed to various European countries.
And, so it is claimed, HSBC set up its modus operandi specifically to the end effect to assist Tax evaders from various countries to cheat their own folk.
We are talking here about simple individuals, corporations, drug dealers, money launderers, crime-syndicates and who knows what other nefarious shady customers.

If you read today's papers, listen to the News casts on radio and television today and surely for the next little while and compare this to HSBC's offer to send me a refund of my credit, you will end up shaking your head in disbelief. 
Who is HSBC ? Saint or Sinner ?
The Titan of Integrity, a Saint ?,  or the Financial Devil Incarnate ?

Bertstravels
can only shrug his shoulders and/or shake his wise old head.