A change to the HSBC Malta website on Friday doubling the down payment needed for a home loan happened because “somebody changed the figure on the internet”, the bank’s CEO Simon Vaughan Johnson said on Tuesday.
When asked why it took almost a full working day to correct the mistake, Vaughan Johnson said this was due to the website being managed in Poland, rather than Malta.
“It actually takes a while to go through the process because we don’t do it here locally... it’s done through an offshore centre in Poland,” he said.
“There’s a whole process and obviously you’ve got to be very careful to get it right,” he added.
On Friday, Times of Malta reported that HSBC had backtracked on a decision to increase deposits for home loans without communicating the reason for the change to its customers.
On Monday, HSBC Malta admitted that it had “inadvertently” doubled its minimum down payments for home loans on its website, from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
Addressing the mistake during a speech earlier on Tuesday, Vaughan Johnson said the change had occurred as a result of human error.
“We sincerely apologise for any confusion or inconvenience this might have caused,“ he said.
When asked if an internal investigation had been launched to determine who made the mistake, a spokesperson for the bank said "we're looking into it to see at which point in the process the mistake was done so we make sure it doesn't happen again."
The error had occurred at the company's website management site in Poland, they confirmed.
Vaughan Johnson’s comments were given at an HSBC press conference announcing strong results for last year that saw its profits more than double to €57.3 million.
During his address, Vaughan Johnson noted the planned gross dividend payment of €20.2 million would be the highest in the last four years.
While profits were the highest in six years, the outlook for the end of the year remained “uncertain due to inflationary pressures and the geopolitical situation,” he warned.
The bank’s CEO also praised the progress Malta had made in removing itself from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, while noting that the risk of financial crime “remains high.”
The bank has “zero appetite” for financial crime risk, he added.
On Wednesday, HSBC announced that Vaughan Johnson would be leaving the bank in April after 36 years with HSBC group.
HSBC Malta’s chairman John Bonello praised the outgoing CEO’s tenure at the bank, saying the bank was “stronger and safer” as a result.