HBOS倒闭案 监管调查表明KPMG无过错

    据英国卫报最新报道：

    HBOS 倒闭案， 监管调查表明KPMG审计无过错

    KPMG cleared by watchdog in HBOS audit investigation

    FRC rules out wrongdoing by accountancy firm in reviewing bank’s accounts before financial crisis

Jill Treanor

    KPMG has been cleared of any wrongdoing over its auditing of HBOS,which was rescued by Lloyds during the height of the 2008crisis,after accounting regulators concluded the accountancy firm could not have foreseen the bank’s problems.

    The accountancy regulator,the Financial Reporting Council (FRC),announced that it had closed an investigation into KPMG which was sparked by pressure from MPs on the Treasury select committee in 2015.

The FRC concluded “there was not a realistic prospect that a tribunal would make an adverse finding against KPMGin respect of the matters within the scope of the investigation”.KMPG said it was pleased with the findings.

    “The firm’s work did not fall significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected of the audit,the test that a tribunal would apply,”the FRC said.

    The investigation was into the 2007accounts of HBOS and looked at the description of the bank as a “going concern”.The accounts were published in February 2008–barely six months before it was taken over by Lloyds in the panic that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

    The extreme funding conditions that arose in October 2008were not anticipated,the FRC said.

    “HBOS did not expect market conditions to worsen and judged that it would be able to fund itself.The auditor considered and accepted this conclusion.

    HBOS published its audited financial statements in February 2008on that basis.The evidence of market conditions at that time did not show this decision of HBOS or the auditor’s assessment of it to be unreasonable at the time,”the FRC said.

    The collapse of HBOS and problems at other banks sparked scrutiny of the audit profession and the FRC said that next month it would publish a report on how auditing had changed since the crisis.

    MPs had called for the regulator to investigate after the publication in November of the formal investigation into what went wrong at HBOS.That also sparked an investigation into the individuals at the bank at the time,and those investigations are thought to be continuing.

    KPMG said:“We have always maintained that our audit was robust and undertaken in accordance with the regulations and practice of the time.”

    It added:“The collapse of HBOS and other examples of corporate failure and fraud in the last decade have highlighted a gap between what society expects of an audit and what an audit has been designed to do.Since 2008,whilst we recognise that there is more to be done,we have worked hard to contribute positively to this debate and have explored ways to close the expectation gap,for example,by offering extended audit opinions which give a view on corporate risks.”

    关于HBOS：

    HBOS公司，是英国一家从事银行及保险业务的公司，在2009年1月被莱斯银行集团接管。HBOS公司是苏格兰银行的控股公司，在英国经营苏格兰银行与哈利法克斯（英语：Halifax (United Kingdom bank)）品牌，以及HBOS澳洲与HBOS保险与投资集团有限公司。

    HBOS成立于2001年，是由哈利法克斯有限公司和苏格兰银行合并而成，合并后公司成为英国第五大银行，规模与开业超过百年的四大英国零售银行相当，但她却是英国最大的抵押贷款银行。2006年HBOS集团重组法把哈利法克斯有限公司转移至苏格兰银行，即现今的苏格兰银行有限公司。

    虽然HBOS公司没有交代该缩写的由来，但已被广泛推定为“苏格兰哈利法克斯银行”（Halifax Bank of Scotland）。公司总部位于苏格兰爱丁堡的The Mound（英语：密特），也是前苏格兰银行的总部。公司另有一个营运总部在英格兰西约克郡哈利法克斯，也是前哈利法克斯公司的总部。

此前媒体报道：

    毕马威会计师事务所可能面临审计监管机构对该事务所审计苏格兰哈里法克斯银行（HBOS）的调查，英国议会银行标准委员会上周宣称，即使没有爆发金融危机，哈里法克斯银行也会破产。

    尽管银行标准委员会并没有批评这家四大会计师事务所，但是发布了强烈谴责的报告，揭露哈里法克斯银行接受纳税人救援的时候亏损470亿英镑，而毕马威会计师事务所出具了良好的审计报告。单就哈里法克斯银行的企业部门而言，毕马威会计师事务所在2008年5月按照管理层的决定，仅预留3.7亿英镑的准备金，最终该部门损失高达250亿英镑。

    鉴于这些调查结果，英国财务报告委员会表示，将审核银行标准委员会的报告和金融服务管理局审查哈里法克斯银行破产的结果，以确定是否在该委员会的权限范围下进行调查，发言人表示将继续审查有关情况，目前还没有进行官方调查。

    英国议会的报告强烈批评了哈里法克斯银行公司管理层的玩忽职守，呼吁前首席执行官詹姆斯·克罗斯比爵士放弃爵位，返还他每年57万英镑的退休金。

    英国首相戴维·卡梅伦昨天拒绝干涉詹姆斯的爵位问题，尽管前苏格兰皇家银行行长弗雷德·古德温去年失去了他的爵位。