HSBC to cut use of tax havens as chairman Douglas Flint says they have 'bad name "Given that it started getting a flavour to it, we need to reflect very carefully and scrutinise anything we're involved with, anything that our customers are involved with, and decide whether that is appropriate going forward," he said. More than 50 businesses have been offloaded by HSBC since Stuart Gulliver took over as chief executive in 2011 and launched a restructuring programme. The bank's confirmation that it is reviewing its use of tax havens follows a similar move by Lloyds Banking Group, which revealed at its shareholder meeting earlier this month that it would be shutting down several subsidiaries based in offshore jurisdictions for tax purposes. Barclays has already closed down its highly-lucrative structured capital markets business, which advised the bank's wealthiest clients on how to minimise their tax bills. The moves come amid an increased crackdown by Western governments on tax avoidance by the rich. Britain, the US and Germany have all used tax records acquired from whistleblowers to go after the assets of wealthy citizens who have avoided local taxes.