Michael Appleton for The New York TimesBenjamin M. Lawsky, head of the New York Department of Financial Services, at his office in Lower Manhattan in January.
Standard Chartered, the British bank at the center of accusations that it illegally funneled money for Iranian banks and corporations, is expected to sign a settlement on Friday with New York’s top banking regulator.
While bank executives agreed last month to pay $340 million to settle claims that it moved hundreds of billions of dollars in tainted money and lied to regulators, the final details were not hashed out until Friday, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions.
The finalized agreement will allow the 150-year-old bank to move beyond its clash with Benjamin M. Lawsky and his 10-month old agency, the New York Department of Financial Services. The state regulator in August accused Standard Chartered of scheming for nearly a decade with Iran to hide from regulators 60,000 transactions worth $250 billion.
Federal authorities, including the Manhattan district attorney and the Justice Department, have their own investigations into Standard Chartered. The bank is expected to resolve any criminal allegations with the Manhattan district attorney’s office by next week, according to law enforcement officials.
Standard Chartered has maintained that only $14 million of the $250 billion in transactions violated federal regulations. In a regulatory filing shortly after the settlement was announced, the bank said that “a formal agreement containing the detailed terms of the settlement is expected to be concluded shortly.”
A bank spokeswoman declined to comment.
The concluded settlement on Friday will be the final act in an international drama that pitted Mr. Lawsky against federal authorities who believed he was overreaching and British authorities who accused the regulator of hurting the reputation of their banks.
Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/standard-chartered-set-to-sign-pact-with-new-york-regulator/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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