We win [pounds sterling]1/2M battle over snatch-back.

By Jeff Prestridge, Financial Mail on Sunday, London Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 6--HSBC, the global bank expected to report [pounds sterling]10 billion annual profits this month, has backed down over a claim for [pounds sterling]500,000 overpaid to investors. The U-turn follows intervention by Financial Mail.

The overpayment was made to more than 800 customers with five-year stock market-linked investment bonds maturing at the end of last month.

The "tranche 76" bond should have repaid investors 95 per cent of their initial money because the FTSE 100 index, to which the bonds were linked, failed to rise over the five years. …