HSBC reported its 2014 results today: pre-tax profit was down by 17%, at $18.7 billion. But few are asking the usual questions about cost-income ratios and whatnot. The bank is taking a battering from the British media, which accuse it of having facilitated tax-dodging: earlier this month the BBC and the Guardian got their hands on a leaked list of over 100,000 people who had accounts with HSBC’s Swiss arm in 2005-07. This morning the Guardian says Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive, kept money with a Panamanian company with a Swiss HSBC account; Mr Gulliver (who is domiciled in Hong Kong) denies doing anything wrong. Douglas Flint, the chairman, must endure a further grilling on Wednesday when he appears before a British parliamentary committee. His best hope is that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, whose attempts to recoup avoided taxes now look rather lackadaisical, may take much of the heat.​​