汇丰银行(HSBC)一名前雇员从该行在瑞士的一家分行窃取了2.4万客户的资料。昨日，汇丰就这起令其极为难堪的数据失窃事件作出无保留的道歉。

　　An ex-employee of HSBC stole the details of 24,000 clients from a branch in Switzerland, in a hugely embarrassing theft of data for which the bank apologised unreservedly yesterday.

　　这家欧洲最大的银行透露，前电脑专家赫尔夫·法西亚尼(Herve Falciani)三年前从其日内瓦私人银行窃取了客户资料。汇丰称，其中约1.5万账户目前仍处于活跃状态，其余则已关闭。法西亚尼已逃往法国。

　　Europe's biggest bank revealed that Hervé Falciani, a former computer specialist who fled to France, had stolen the details from its Geneva private bank three years ago. Some 15,000 of the accounts were still active, HSBC said. The rest were closed.

　　瑞士金融市场监管局(Finma)已对这宗数据失窃事件展开调查。该机构将力求查明，这么多数据是怎样失窃的，以及汇丰的反应是否达到了法定要求。

　　Finma, the Swiss financial markets regulator, has launched an investigation into the theft. It will examine how so much data could have been stolen and whether HSBC's response had met legal requirements.

　　汇丰全球私人银行主管克里斯·米尔斯(Chris Meares)表示，这样的调查属于“正常程序”，该行正与瑞士监管机构密切合作。

　　Chris Meares, HSBC's head of global private banking, said that such investigations were “normal procedure” and that the bank was working closely with the regulator.

　　这宗数据失窃事件将加剧人们对瑞士和列支敦士登银行客户保密状况的担忧，这两个欧洲国家施行严格的银行保密制度。汇丰表示，失窃的资料仅限于在瑞士开立的账户。“我们对这种情况深表遗憾，并就客户隐私面对的这一威胁无保留地向我们的客户道歉，”汇丰瑞士私人银行主管亚历山大·泽勒(Alexandre Zeller)表示。

　　The theft will heighten concerns about client confidentiality in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which have strict bank secrecy. HSBC said that the stolen information was limited to accounts in Switzerland. “We deeply regret the situation and unreservedly apologise to our clients for this threat to their privacy”, said Alexendre Zeller, head of HSBC's Swiss private bank.

　　该行最初曾淡化去年12月曝光的这宗数据失窃事件，称其仅涉及不到10名客户。泽勒表示，那项声明是根据瑞士联邦检察署提供的信息作出的，而该机构是在一家黎巴嫩银行通风报信后采取相应行动的。

　　The bank had originally played down the theft, revealed last December, saying that fewer than 10 clients were involved. Mr Zeller said that the statement was based on information from the Swiss Federal Prosecutor, which acted after a tip-off from a Lebanese bank.