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Following New York State Settlements, Some Foreign Banks Consider Charter Shopping
By Brian Monroe and Colby Adams
printIn the wake of two state-issued fines that totaled over $500 million dollars, several foreign banks with chartered branches in New York are considering moving elsewhere, say sources with knowledge of the matter. The potential moves stem from two settlements-against Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ-imposed by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) over the past year. The settlement agreements cited violations of New York recordkeeping regulations arising from the banks' transactions with blacklisted entities. A handful of large and midsize foreign financial institutions, some headquartered in Asia, have since quietly begun looking into...
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New U.S. regulations and a reported sanctions probe by New York officials are increasing pressure on the reinsurance sector, an industry where knowing your customer can prove difficult, say consultants.
New York's financial regulator Thursday said a Japanese bank must pay $250 million for breaking a state recordkeeping law-the second time the agency has used the rule against sanctions violators.
Deloitte Financial Advisory Services must pay New York $10 million and refrain from consulting additional state-regulated banks for one year after improperly sharing client data with Standard Chartered.
The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement agency fined a Japanese bank nearly $8.6 million Wednesday for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Cuba and weapons proliferators.
A nearly $330 million deferred prosecution agreement with a London-based bank reinforces the peril financial institutions face when engaging in look-backs for possible sanctions or anti-money laundering violations.
New York's $340 million sanctions settlement with Standard Chartered Plc will likely serve as a model for similar compliance-related agreements, even as it deters some banks from obtaining state licenses.
A New York agency's threat to revoke Standard Chartered Bank's state license for alleged sanctions violations is based on a flawed understanding of U.S. Treasury regulations, say former U.S. officials.
U.S. investigators looking into potential sanctions violations by Standard Chartered Bank will likely expedite their case following allegations by New York officials that the bank's executives permitted compliance violations, say sources.
A London bank in talks with the United States for potential violations over its economic sanctions compliance program spent $150 million in 2010 on related transaction reviews and upgrades.
The New York District Attorney's Office has hired a prominent U.S. Justice Department official to head a new bureau established to investigate financial fraud, bribery, terrorist financing and money laundering.
Settlement talks between the Bank of New York Mellon and Russia over the country's alleged loss of taxes on $7.5 billion have stalled, according to a lawyer representing the federation.
The Financial Services Agency ordered Bank of Tokyo to improve its New York branchs policies for identifying politically exposed persons, correspondent accountholders and other high-risk customers, including those who conduct frequent wire transactions.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the New York State Banking Department reprimanded the Bank of Tokyo's Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Company on Monday for "unsafe and unsound" practices in its New York branch.
New York state and federal banking regulators Monday signed an official agreement to share enforcement and sanction data.