Standard Chartered is facing a new penalty from the authorities in the United States over money laundering, less than two years after being fined more than $600 million for breaking sanctions with Iran.
The lender, which focuses on emerging markets, said that it was in “active discussions” with the New York State Department of Financial Services, after the discovery of problems with its systems for monitoring suspicious transactions. It was expecting to be fined, as well as face an extension to a monitoring period.
The bank was fined $667 million in 2012 by US regulators after investigators found that it had broken sanctions with Iran.
Peter Sands, the chief executive, said the latest breach had been discovered by monitors sent in by the authorities to keep an eye on the bank, and added that it was a matter the lender took “very seriously”.
“We are working with the DFS and the monitor on this issue,” he said. “The route of this transactions surveillance issue dates back to 2007. Since 2012 we have embarked on a very extensive programme of enhancing and reinforcing our capabilities… the monitor identified the issues we are talking about here.”
Mr Sands declined to comment on the likely size of any financial penalty, but said the bank expected the two-year monitoring period that was imposed in the wake of its 2012 settlement to be extended.
The disclosure of the new money-laundering problems came as Standard Chartered reported a 20 per cent fall in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year. The bank warned that it was facing “performance challenges” amid a reorganisation of its business.
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