Bank in discussions to settle money laundering probes

HSBC, which is under investigation by US regulators for laundering funds of sanctioned nations including Iran and Sudan, is in talks to settle the matter, two people with knowledge of the case have said.

The bank, Europe’s largest by market value, made a $700m (€560m) provision in July for any US fines after a senate committee found it had given terrorists and drug cartels access to the US financial system. That sum might increase, chief executive Stuart Gulliver has said.

A HSBC settlement that regulators and the Manhattan district attorney were aiming to conclude as early as September may have been slowed when New York’s banking superintendent accused Standard Chartered of laundering $250bn for Iran.