"The operating environment for banks in the UK is extremely challenging and will remain so for some time, " HSBC UK managing director Paul Thurston said in the statement.

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"I'm very realistic, " Giles Morgan, the Global Head of Sponsorship and Events for HSBC told the UK Press Association.

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For what it is worth, we know that Deutsche Bank of Germany, Switzerland's UBS, America's Citigroup, and - from the UK - RBS, Lloyds and HSBC are all being investigated.

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