Standard Chartered expects to pay US$330 million (Dh1.1 billion) to settle claims from American regulators that it flouted sanctions against Iran.
The bank said it had expected to conclude negotiations with four authorities in the United States over allegations it violated US sanctions "very shortly". The authorities are the justice department, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York district attorney.
"The timing is not in our control. The amount we expect to pay is approximately $330m," it said in a statement, released yesterday.
The latest fine comes as the bank seeks to bring to a close controversy over its dealings with Iran.
In August, the bank agreed to pay New York's financial services department (DFS) $340m after it charged the bank with working with Iranian companies and banks for nearly a decade to hide nearly 60,000 transactions worth $250bn.
The US has spearheaded the drive against Iran with sanctions targeting its economy in response to Tehran's pursuit of a suspected nuclear weapons programme. Iran denies the accusations.
But even a second round of fines is unlikely to stop Standard Chartered from reporting a 10th consecutive year of record profits. Its focus on Asia for most of its business has helped the bank to weather crises in the global economy better than many of its western peers.
"Six hundred and seventy million dollars is a big number in total and one the bank could do without having to pay," said Gary Greenwood, a banking analyst at Shore Capital in the United Kingdom. "But for a bank that was expected to generate about $7.5bn of pre-tax profit in the current year, it is an amount they can readily absorb and investors were expecting it.
"The group is on course to deliver income growth in excess of expense growth in spite of the settlement," said Adam Chan, a senior analyst at CCB International in a note yesterday. "Balance sheet growth is holding strong as both loans and deposits are expected to grow by a high-single-digit rate year on year."
The DFS fine will cut pre-tax profit growth this year to a mid-single-digit rate from what otherwise would have been a double-digit increase, the bank said in a separate trading update yesterday.
The second fine will slim profits still further.
"Standard Chartered is on course to deliver another strong set of full year results for 2012," said Peter Sands, the group chief executive in the trading update.
"We continue to see significant opportunities across our markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East."
The headwind from currency moves was decreasing, the update said. In October, the bank said revenue growth was being impacted by the strength of the US dollar against Asian currencies.
Several other global banks have also fallen foul of moves by US regulators to crack down on money laundering by drug cartels and terrorists.
Last month HSBC set aside a further $800m to cover potential fines relating to a US money-laundering investigation against it. It means HSBC's total provisions for the case now stand at $1.5bn. The bank is still negotiating with authorities but is expected to pay a much larger fine than Standard Chartered and could also face criminal action.
In June, ING Bank, a division of the Dutch financial services company ING Financial Services struck a $619m deal with the US Treasury department in response to allegations it broke sanctions against Iran, Libya and other countries.
In response to US investigations, Standard Chartered had previously mounted a vigorous defence of its banking record, disputing aspects of the regulator's allegations, saying it had identified just $14m of transactions that might have violated sanctions, which it attributed to clerical errors.
In addition to the fine in August, Standard Chartered also agreed to the regulator's demands to place a monitor at the bank's New York office for at least two years to evaluate its money-laundering controls.
Investors shrugged off news of the fine as the British bank's shares rose 0.8 per cent to £15 (Dh88.77) in morning trading.
tarnold@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELong-range%20dual%20motor%20with%20400V%20battery%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E360kW%20%2F%20483bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E840Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20628km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210kph%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh360%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
The specs: 2018 Peugeot 5008
Price, base / as tested: Dh99,900 / Dh134,900
Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 240Nm @ 1,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
More on Turkey's Syria offence
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5