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LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - HSBC Chief ExecutiveStuart Gulliver said he is the right person to run HSBC andcomplete a revamp he began in 2011 after coming under fire fromlawmakers over the bank's Swiss tax evasion scandal.
Responding to hostile questioning from Britain's PublicAccounts Committee on Monday, Gulliver - together with theformer head of HSBC's private banking and one of itsnon-executive directors - were slammed for unacceptablestandards and past failings at the bank.
Gulliver's personal financial affairs have served as alightning rod for the tax evasion debate after Britain'sGuardian newspaper said he had sheltered millions of pounds inHSBC's Swiss private bank via a Panamanian company.
The under-fire CEO said that did not undermine his rolerunning Europe's largest bank.
"I believe I am (the right person to be CEO) because my taxaffairs are in order and I have carried out widespread root andbranch reforms of HSBC in the five years I have been group CEO,"Gulliver said.
He said whether he remained as CEO was a matter for theboard and shareholders. "I am committed to finishing what Ibegan five years ago in a firm that I've served for 35 years."
Gulliver admitted scrutiny on his own affairs had damagedthe bank, however.
"My inability to convince anyone that these arrangementswere not put in place for reasons of tax evasion have causedreputational damage to the bank. But the fact is I've compliedwith the tax laws," he said.
Gulliver came under hostile questioning from a panel of UKlawmakers about his personal tax affairs after HSBC admittedfailings in controls at its Swiss private bank. This followedmedia reports saying HSBC helped wealthy customers concealmillions of dollars of assets in a period up to 2007.
The Swiss tax scandal has added to a list of problems fromthe past that have hit HSBC in recent years.
The bank was fined $1.9 billion two years ago by U.S.authorities for lax controls that allowed criminals to laundermoney and was also hit with a $611 million penalty by regulatorsin November for alleged manipulation of currency markets.
HSBC has admitted the allegations of wrongdoing have had adevastating impact on the bank's reputation that would take timeto rebuild. (Reporting by Steve Slater, editing by Sinead Cruise)
