HSBC alerts US clients having accounts in India

WASHINGTON: The HSBC Bank, which is at the core of a US crackdown on offshore tax evasion, has alerted its clients having an account in India, including Indian Americans, to consult a tax advisor after it received summons from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seeking its account-holders' names.

"In the interest of our customers, we would like to highlight that if you have any concerns about your US tax reporting relating to your HSBC India account(s), you should consider consulting with a US tax advisor to determine the appropriate course of action," said Sanjay Nair, head customer propositions, retail banking and wealth management, HSBC in a letter to its customers.

HSBC in its letter, informed its American clients having bank account in HSBC India that the IRS has served a summons on the bank seeking information with regard to financial accounts of US persons maintained with its branches in India.