Standard Chartered Plc is close to agreeing to pay as much as $300 million to resolve claims by New York's banking regulator it didn't flag suspicious transactions after promising to do so in a 2012 accord, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
A settlement between the London-based bank and Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, could come as soon as this week, the person said, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential.
Standard Chartered said this month it expects to be fined by the New York regulator and to face "remedial actions" over lapses in its anti-money-laundering controls. The bank said the problem was spotted by the independent monitor Lawsky installed as part of a $667 million accord the London-based firm reached with US authorities over claims it violated US sanctions laws with regard to Iran.
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Lawsky's office secured $340 million in August 2012 in a deal reached the day before the bank was due to defend itself to the regulator. The rest went to authorities including the Federal Reserve, the Manhattan District Attorney and the US Department of Justice in a deal concluded in December of that year.
Earlier this year, the monitor - Ellen Zimiles of Navigant Consulting Inc - identified lapses in the bank's compliance related to a software programme that was not flagging transactions from risky parts of the world for further review.
Zimiles's contract is expected to be renewed for two years as part of the new settlement, the person said. Standard Chartered said in an August 6 statement that it anticipated the monitor's term to be extended as part of any deal.
Caitlin Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Lawsky's office, and Standard Chartered's Julie Gibson declined to comment.
Details about the settlement amount and the timing were reported on Monday by the Financial Times.
