Industry news

Bank may face charges over lost data disc

HSBC faces a potential investigation after it admitted it lost a disc containing the details of 370,000 customers.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been informed and the bank may face a fine if a breach in security is found.

The CD contained the names, dates of birth and insurance details of people with life assurance at the bank.

A spokesman for the bank apologised to customers but said that there was no indication that the disc had been stolen and added that it was password-protected.

"There is no information on this disc in relation to banking or payment details and there were no addresses, so the scope for any fraudulent activity is vastly reduced," he added.

A spokesman for the FSA said: "We look to firms to put controls in place to look after things such as information security and data control. We have, in the past, taken action where we felt firms had not met those principles."

In 2007, the government admitted it had lost the personal records of 25 million people through the post.