Ten days after revelations about HSBC's Swiss subsidiary first broke, the bank is now facing 10 separate investigations around the world.
On Wednesday, Swiss prosecutors announced a criminal probe into the Geneva-based bank's activities, joining a growing list of investigations in jurisdictions across Europe, Asia, and both North and South America.
Of perhaps the most immediate concern to the bank are statements from officials at the US Department of Justice, who said it is considering criminal charges against the bank and its clients. Since then, a raft of other inquiries have come to light.
In Brazil, authorities have launched an investigation into whether accounts included in the files are linked to a major corruption scandal which in recent months has engulfed the Brazilian government and state-owned oil company Petrobras.
Analysis of the files indicates that 11 accounts, which in 2007 had deposits totalling in excess of US$110 million, held at HSBC Suisse between 2006 and 2007 belonged to individuals linked to the investigation, known as "Operation Car Wash". Separately, Brazil's tax authority said it would investigate 6,600 undeclared accounts with HSBC's Swiss private bank linked to Brazil.
In Mexico, authorities have launched an investigation into the Mexican names in the files. This was triggered by revelations last week that 2,642 accounts linked to Mexico are included in the files with combined holdings at the time of US$2.2 billion.
Elsewhere in the region, the head of Argentina's tax office called on the bank late last week to repatriate US$4.6 billion reportedly held in more than 4,000 undeclared accounts linked to Argentine citizens and companies. The appeal comes after raids last month on HSBC's Buenos Aires offices as part of an Argentinian criminal investigation into the bank.