As mentioned yesterday, StanChart did get a $300M fine for running afoul of their 2012 agreement. Their software to monitor wires for possible violations of money laundering laws didn’t pick up on one or several million wires that should have been flagged.
In addition to the fine, the bank agreed to permanently halt US dollar settlement for about 300 high-risk clients in Hong Kong and UAE.
This is a repeat issue based on the 2012 settlement, which cost $340M.
Two articles for more details:
- 8/19 – Wall Street Journal – N.Y. Financial Watchdog Fines Standard Chartered $300 Million
- 8/19 – New York Times DealBook – Caught Backsliding, Standard Chartered Is Fined $300 Million
As one article speculated, if this shows the beginning of looking back to see how well banks are complying with consent agreements, it could mean another round of scrutiny for the too-big-to-fail banks.