HSBC, BNP Paribas, Nomura, RBS among victims of Madoff fraud

HSBC, BNP Paribas and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are among the global finance giants who invested in funds managed by Bernard Madoff and are now counting their losses.

HSBC could be one of the largest victims as it stands to lose $1 billion, the UK bank announced Monday, according to a CNN article.

Meanwhile, RBS told CNN its hedge funds had exposure of up to $600 million to funds managed by securities broker Bernard Madoff.

France's BNP Paribas said its maximum potential loss was about $468 million. CNN also reported that Spain's Banco Santander had a direct exposure of $23 million while clients of its hedge funds had $3.1 billion at risk in Madoff's firm. Japan's Nomura said it had $303 million of exposure, but that the impact on its capital would be limited.

Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq exchange market, was arrested Thursday on a single securities fraud charge for operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme from his investment advisory business. A federal court in Manhattan Friday issued a temporary order freezing his assets and appointing a receiver over him and his firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. Madoff was released on a $10 million bond.

Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio