StanChart braces for $900m fines over US and UK banking issues
Standard Chartered has set aside $900 million for potential penalties relating to investigations into the bank’s practices in the UK and US.
If you’re easily confused, it is also known as StanChart
As reported last month, the bank was hit with a $40 million fine for attempting to rig transactions in foreign exchange markets between 2007 and 2013.
The hefty punishment was courtesy of The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) and marks the last in a series of DFS consent orders that follow an investigation of manipulation in forex markets.
Today (21 February), Standard Chartered says it has received a decision notice from the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) relating to the previously disclosed investigation by the FCA concerning the group’s historical financial crime controls, and is considering its options in relation to this decision notice.
The decision notice imposes a penalty of £102,163,200 (net of a 30% early settlement discount) on the group.
The bank points out that its 2018 fourth quarter results will include a provision for this sum for potential penalties relating to the investigations, and for previously disclosed investigations relating to FX trading issues, including the January 2019 settlement announced last month.
It explains: “Resolution of the US investigation and of the FCA process might ultimately result in a different level of penalties.”
Standard Chartered will be releasing its 2018 full year results on 26 February 2019.
In other bad news, back in March 2018 the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) imposed penalties on Standard Chartered of SGD 6.3 million ($4.8 million) for breaches of its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements.
