Dual Currency Investment Terms and Conditions Effective 15 August 2011
2 Important Information 1. DCI Terms and Conditions 1.1 This document sets out the terms and conditions (the DCI Terms ) relating to the Dual Currency Investment ( the DCI ) with the Bank, and forms part of the contract (the Contract ) made between the Bank and the customer relating to the DCI. The DCI Terms apply in addition to our Personal Banking Terms of Business and our Personal Internet Banking Terms and Conditions. Please read them all carefully. If there is a conflict then the DCI Terms will apply. 1.2 The Contract comprises of the DCI Mandate, the DCI Terms, the Product Sheet, the Instruction Confirmation and together they form the Contract. 2. Definitions In this document: Account means an HSBC Bank International account which is your selected Base Currency account. Alternate Currency means the currency within your Currency Pair which is not your Base Currency. Applicable Yield means the annual percentage rate which is used to calculate the Return due to you at maturity. Bank means HSBC Bank International Limited. Base Currency means the currency you have selected to invest in. Business Day means Monday to Friday, excluding UK public holidays, on which commercial banks are generally open for business (including dealings in foreign exchange and foreign currency deposits) in the UK and in any relevant market conventions for the currencies you have selected. Currency Pair means the two currencies selected by you for the purposes of your DCI, from those made available by the Bank. Dual Currency Investment or DCI means the investment made by you in accordance with the Terms. DCI Amount means the original amount invested by you. DCI Date means two Business Days after the Instruction Date from when the term commences and the return will be calculated on your DCI. DCI Mandate means the signed agreement between you and the Bank. DCI Parameters means the DCI Amount, the Fixed Term, the Base Currency, the Alternate Currency and the Strike Rate as selected by you. Decision Date means the date set out in your Instruction Confirmation when the Bank calculates whether your Proceeds will be paid in your Base Currency or the Alternate Currency which will normally be two Business Days before the Maturity Date. HSBC Group means HSBC Holdings plc, its subsidiaries, associated and affiliated companies. Fixed Term means the period of time selected by you for the DCI. Instruction Confirmation means the electronic confirmation of your instruction which will follow after you have telephoned the Bank and confirmed your DCI. Instruction Date means the day you telephone the Bank and confirm the amount and currency of your investment, the term of the investment, your selected Currency Pair, and your Strike Rate. Maturity Advice means the electronic notification sent by the Bank acknowledging the payment of the Proceeds to be paid to you after the Maturity Date. Maturity Date means the date the investment will reach at the end of its fixed term. Proceeds means the DCI Amount and Return paid in either your Base Currency or Alternate Currency. Product Sheet means the information sheet which illustrates how the DCI will work and which may be amended by the Bank from time to time. Return means the amount due to you in addition to your original investment on the Maturity Date. Strike Rate means the exchange rate selected by you, as one of the DCI parameters. you and your means the person or persons named in and who has/have signed the DCI Mandate. Contact Information: To contact us, Premier customers please call + 44 1534 616313 and Advance customers please call +44 1534 616212. To help us continually improve our services and, in the interests of security, we may monitor and/ or record your communications with us. 3. Establishing a DCI Mandate 3.1 Before placing a DCI you must have completed and returned the signed DCI Mandate, be registered for Personal Internet Banking and have suitable accounts in your Base Currency and your Alternate Currency. 3.2 On receipt and acceptance of the DCI Mandate, the Bank will send to you an acceptance confirmation via email. 3.3 The Bank at its absolute discretion may decline a DCI Mandate and/or any individual DCI and will notify you in writing via email. 4. Placing a DCI 4.1 To place the DCI, contact the FX Team (8am to 5pm London GMT) Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on the numbers set out under Contact Information above. All telephone calls are recorded for mutual protection and as a means of resolving any disputes. 4.2 When you place the DCI, you will need to select the DCI Parameters and this will determine the Applicable Yield. 4.3 If your Base Currency is the first currency in your Currency Pair you must select a Strike Rate that is equal to or higher than the spot rate. 4.4 If your Base Currency is the second currency in your
3 Currency Pair you must select a Strike Rate that is equal to or lower than the spot rate. 4.5 The DCI is subject to minimum and maximum amounts as set by the Bank from time to time and as specified in the Product Sheet. You may have more than one DCI subject to the DCI Terms. 4.6 Before accepting the DCI, the Bank will check to confirm you have sufficient cleared funds in your Base Currency, the DCI Parameters and the Applicable Yield. Upon verification of sufficient cleared funds and your verbal confirmation to proceed, the DCI will be executed immediately and the funds will be moved into your new account. An Instruction Confirmation will be sent to you via Personal Internet Banking shortly thereafter. 4.7 On the DCI Date, you irrevocably authorise the Bank to debit the DCI Amount from your chosen Base Currency account and credit the DCI. 4.8 You may not withdraw the DCI before the Maturity Date. 4.9 There is no cooling off period which means that once your instructions have been accepted in accordance with Clause 4.6 above, you will not have the option to change your mind on the DCI. 5. Return 5.1 The Return will be paid in addition to the DCI Amount on the Maturity Date. 5.2 The Return for a DCI shall be calculated based on the Applicable Yield. 5.3 The Return will be paid gross unless our records show that you are a resident of a European Union member state and in this case the interest element will be paid in accordance with your instructions on your Base Currency or Alternate Currency accounts, unless otherwise agreed with you at the time of opening these accounts in which case the interest element will be dealt with in accordance with the Personal Banking Terms of Business. 6. Determining the currency of the Proceeds at the Maturity Date 6.1 On the Decision Date at 10am, New York Time, the Bank will determine whether your Proceeds will be paid to you in the Base Currency or the Alternate Currency by comparing the Strike Rate against the spot rate at that time. 6.2 If the Base Currency is first in the Currency Pair and it has strengthened against the Alternate Currency so that the spot rate is equal to or greater than the Strike Rate at the Decision Date, the Bank will convert your proceeds to the Alternate Currency. 6.3 If the Base Currency is second in the Currency Pair and it has strengthened against the Alternate Currency so that the spot rate is equal to or less than the Strike Rate at the Decision Date, the Bank will convert your Proceeds to the Alternate Currency. 6.4 Unless 6.2 or 6.3 apply, the Bank will pay your Proceeds in the Base Currency. 6.5 Notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms, the Bank reserves the right, for whatever reason, not to convert the Proceeds to the Alternate Currency. 7. Repayment of a DCI 7.1 On the Maturity Date the Bank will credit your Base/ Alternate Currency account with the Proceeds. 7.2 The Bank will send you a written Maturity Advice confirmation through Personal Internet Banking. 8. Our right of set-off and appropriation 8.1 The Bank may use the Proceeds of your DCI to reduce or repay any amounts you owe on other accounts you hold with the Bank in the same name. If the DCI is in joint names all of you are together and individually responsible for any money owed to the Bank. 8.2 The Bank may at its absolute discretion convert the Proceeds to another currency at the prevailing market rate of exchange and in doing so the Bank will have no liability to you if this creates a shortfall. 8.3 If the Bank either exercises its right pursuant to Clauses 8.1 or 8.2, the Bank will tell you the reasons why and when it has been done. 8.4 Nothing in this clause will prevent the Bank from exercising at any time any other right of set-off to reduce or repay any amounts you may owe the Bank. 9. Market Disruption 9.1 If the relevant currency markets are disrupted for whatever reason, at the Decision Date or the Maturity Date, the Bank at its absolute and sole discretion will take whatever action it deems to be fair and reasonable in the circumstances. 10. Termination; Termination of a DCI Mandate 10.1 The Bank may at any time and for any reason terminate the DCI Mandate. Any active DCI(s) at the time of termination will continue until the Maturity Date and the Proceeds will be paid in accordance with Clause 7.1 above. 11. Charges 11.1 There is no application fee, establishment fee or any ongoing management fee charged to you in respect of your DCI. The fees and costs of structuring each DCI are incorporated in the Applicable Yield. 12. Waiver 12.1 Waiver or failure by the Bank in exercising any right or remedy shall not be construed or take effect as a waiver or release of that right or remedy and the Bank shall always be entitled to exercise all its rights and remedies unless it has expressly waived them in writing. 13. Variation 13.1 The Bank may vary or amend these Terms and provide you with at least 30 days advance written notice. The Bank will tell you about changes by notice personally which includes telling you by post or email.
4 14. Joint DCI 14.1 Where there are two persons holding the DCI; 14.1.1 both persons must have signed the DCI Mandate; 14.1.2 reference to the customer, you or your shall be deemed to refer to each such person individually; 14.1.3 any act or omission of one shall be deemed the act or omission of you all; 14.1.4 you shall be jointly and severally liable to the Bank for your obligations; and 14.1.5 any instructions relating to the DCI Mandate or the DCI or any Proceeds will be acted upon if given by any of you. 15. Instructions, documents and notices 15.1 All instructions to us must be by telephone. 16. Processing 16.1 The Bank shall not be liable to you for any loss incurred by you if it is prevented from or delayed in providing you with any banking or other services in relation to the DCI as a result of strikes, industrial action, failure of power supplies or equipment or computer dealing systems or any other causes beyond the Bank s control. 17. Death 17.1 Sole DCI: In the event of your death before the Maturity Date, any active DCI s will continue until the Maturity Date and upon the Bank receiving a certified copy of the death certificate, the Proceeds will be paid in accordance with clause 7.1 above. 17.2 Joint DCIs: If you have a Joint DCI, in the event of death of one of the parties before the Maturity Date, and upon the Bank receiving a certified copy of the death certificate, the Bank will transfer the DCI into the survivor s sole name subject to any rights which the Bank pursuant to Clause 8 above. The DCI will continue to be subject to these Terms. 17.3 In the case of an individual DCI holder, the Bank s rights as described shall not be affected by bankruptcy or death. 18. Transfer 18.1 The Bank may transfer all or any of our rights in relation to your DCI. The Bank may also transfer any of its obligations to another member of the HSBC Group which is authorised to accept deposits in Jersey. You may not transfer any of your rights or obligations in relation to your DCI. 19. Governing Law 19.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of Jersey as are the Bank s dealings with you. 19.2 You and the Bank submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Jersey. 19.3 The Terms are in English and all communications we send to you will be in English. 20. Bankruptcy 20.1 In the event that you are made bankrupt then the Bank will not act on any instructions given by you or anyone else to make any payment(s) out of your DCI unless the Bank is in receipt of or has obtained an appropriate order or other evidence satisfactory to it from any relevant court or other authority in Jersey or elsewhere. 21. Expertise 21.1 Each DCI shall be entered into by you in reliance only upon your own expertise, judgment and opinion and without reliance upon the Bank. 22. Your information This section explains how we will use information about you once you have applied for any of the products and services covered in this document together with any other products or services where we tell you this section will apply. 22.1 Confidentiality Information we hold about you will not be disclosed to anyone (including other members of the HSBC Group), other than; where we are legally required to disclose; where we have a public duty to disclose; where our legitimate business purposes require disclosure; where the disclosure is made with your consent; or as set out in the terms below. 23. General use and sharing of your information 23.1 The HSBC Group may collect, use and share relevant information about you, your transactions, your use of our products and services, and your relationships with the HSBC Group; to process applications you make; to supply you with products and services you request; and for credit assessment, customer service, market research, behavioural scoring, product analysis, insurance, audit and administrative purposes. This may include information provided by you or someone acting on your behalf. Where appropriate (for example if you have relationships with other members of the HSBC Group in other countries) this information may be shared with the HSBC Group outside of the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and also inside or outside of the European Economic Area. 23.2 We may use other members of the HSBC Group and/ or third parties to provide services on our behalf which may include the processing of information about you. 23.3 Whether it is processed in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, inside or outside the European Economic Area, in accordance with data protection legislation, your information will be protected by a strict code of secrecy and security which all members of the HSBC Group, their staff and third parties are subject to.
5 24. Crime Prevention and Debt Recovery 24.1 To recover debt, prevent crime, verify your identity and meet our legal obligations, we may exchange information (both within the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man inside or outside the European Economic Area) with other members of the HSBC Group and, where appropriate, with credit reference, debt recovery, fraud prevention and law enforcement agencies, and other relevant organisations including other lenders. 24.2 Your information may be processed for the purposes of complying with applicable laws including anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws and regulations and fighting crime and terrorism. This may require the disclosure of information to the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and where appropriate inside and outside the European Economic Area governmental or regulatory authorities or to any other person we reasonably think necessary for these purposes. 24.3 If you give us false or inaccurate information and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies to prevent fraud and money laundering. 25. Information about products, services and promotions and market research 25.1 If you agree, the HSBC Group may use and share relevant information about you, your transactions and your relationships with the HSBC Group to give you information about products, services (including mortgages and credit cards these services will be provided by HSBC Bank plc in the UK) and promotions available from members of the HSBC Group and selected third parties which may interest you by post, telephone, electronic and other means. 25.2 We will ask you whether you are happy for us to contact you about such products and services when you open an account. If you change your mind at any time please let us know. 25.3 The HSBC Group may share relevant information about you, your transactions and your relationship with third party market research agencies who may invite you (by post, telephone, electronic and other means) to take part in market research activities for the HSBC Group. 25.4 The HSBC Group may also exchange, analyse and use relevant information about you in the way described above to ensure that promotional content displayed to you on screen when you log on to HSBC Group websites is more likely to be relevant and of interest. If you do not want us to use what we know about you to decide what we display to you on our websites, please let us know. Further information on our Privacy can be found on our website (www.offshore.hsbc.com). 26. Miscellaneous 26.1 Under data protection legislation, you can make a written request for a copy of certain personal records we hold about you. The current fee is 10.00 per request from each individual. 26.2 To ensure that we carry out your instructions accurately, to help us to improve our service and, in the interests of security, we may monitor and/or record your communications with us including telephone calls, and conversations we have with you in our branches and offices. Any recordings remain our sole property. 26.3 We may make and retain copies of passports, driving licences or other identification evidence that you provide. 26.4 We will obtain your written consent before providing a banker s reference about you, however if we receive a request from another financial services institution we will provide information required to verify your identity for money laundering prevention purposes. 26.5 We may share information about you with any third party: to whom we transfer, or may transfer, any of our rights and obligations under the Terms; or in connection with the sale, acquisition or restructure of any member of the HSBC Group provided that the third party uses such information for the same purposes for which it was supplied to us or used by us. 26.6 To comply with our money laundering prevention obligations, we will be required to provide details such as your name address and account number, to the receiving bank or other financial institution if you use money transmission services such as SWIFT. We may also be asked by the beneficiary s bank to provide other details such as your date of birth, the purpose of the payment or the beneficiary s full name. 26.7 We may use any contact details you provide to us for service related reasons. You should only give us your email address, home, work or mobile telephone number, if you are happy for us to contact you in these ways. General Information Issued by HSBC Bank International Limited, trading as HSBC Bank International. HSBC Bank International Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission for Banking, General Insurance Mediation, Investment and Fund Services Business. Copies of the Bank s latest audited accounts are available upon request from HSBC Bank International Limited, HSBC House, Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey JE1 1HS. Complaints At HSBC we are committed to providing you with a first-class service and effectively delivering the products and services you need. If you have a complaint about any aspect of our services, please allow our Customer Relations Team to take the first opportunity to answer your concerns and put matters right.
6 You can telephone the Customer Relations Team on +44 1534 616000 (lines are open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day) or write to them at: HSBC Bank International Limited HSBC House Esplanade St Helier Jersey JE1 1HS Channel Islands To help us continually improve our service and in the interest of security we may monitor and/or record your communication with us. Ordinarily, we will acknowledge your complaint within 48 hours, and in most cases, resolve your concerns when we contact you. Occasionally, however, it may be necessary to investigate your complaint further but we aim to resolve your complaint within 10 working days. If this is not possible, you will be advised either by telephone or in writing. We hope that you will not need to progress beyond this first step. If we are unable to satisfy your complaint you may be able to refer your concern to the Jersey Financial Services Commission. If you have further questions which relate to the underlying procedures within HSBC Bank International, you should contact us on the following telephone numbers: Premier customers please call +44 1534 616313, Advance customers please call +44 1534 616212. (Lines are open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day) Alternatively, write to us at: HSBC Bank International Limited HSBC House Esplanade St Helier Jersey, JE1 1HS Channel Islands. HSBC Bank International Limited. 2013. All Rights Reserved. CP000140/SJ/22066745