Standard Chartered has agreed to pay $340m (€276m) to settle allegations that it hid transactions with Iran from regulators, the New York Department of Financial Services said last night.

To see how the federal government has pursued money-laundering cases against big banks over their dealings with Iran and other countries under US trade sanctions, consider what happened when Barclays and the justice department were required to file reports describing the UK bank’s co-operation under a settlement in 2010.

Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands hit back at a New York regulator’s claims the bank broke US sanctions, and said he saw “no grounds” for revoking the lender’s licence.

London mayor Boris Johnson has accused US regulators of acting in a “high-handed” way over Standard Chartered, and said criticism of British banks stems from envy of London as a financial centre.

Standard Chartered has seen £6bn (€7.46bn) wiped from its value amid fears it could lose its US banking licence after regulators branded the lender a “rogue institution” over its dealings with the Iranian government.

Standard Chartered has seen £6bn (€7.5bn) wiped from its value amid fears it could lose its US banking licence after regulators branded the lender a “rogue institution” over its dealings with the Iranian government.

The British banking industry was mired in fresh scandal today after Standard Chartered was branded a “rogue institution” for covering up billions of pounds of illegal transactions with the Iranian government.