HSBC to pay about $300 million to settle French tax probe, Bloomberg News reports
HSBC to pay about $300 million to settle French tax probe, Bloomberg News reports
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 10, 2025
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 10, 2025
Dec 10 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings is preparing to pay around $300 million to settle a French criminal probe into its alleged role in the “Cum-Cum” tax scandal, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Cum-Cum trades involve foreign investors temporarily transferring shares in French companies to local tax-exempt entities, such as domestic banks, around dividend payment dates to reduce or avoid withholding tax.
HSBC, in October, said it had made a $300 million provision against the investigations.
The Bloomberg report said that a proposed settlement with prosecutors from the Parquet National Financier (PNF) is expected to be reviewed by a Paris judge at a court hearing in the coming weeks.
HSBC declined to comment on the report, and the PNF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details.
In September, Credit Agricole’s investment banking arm agreed to pay about 88.2 million euros ($102.66 million) to settle the dividend tax case.
($1 = 0.8592 euros)
(Reporting by DhanushVignesh Babu in Bengaluru, Lawrence White in London and Gabriel Stargardte in Paris; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)