The Financial Times reports that Standard Chartered has sought advice about whether it can pursue a legal action against the US regulator that on Monday accused the British bank of being a rogue institution which had funded $250bn of Iranian sanctions breaches.
The bank’s legal advisers believe 'there is a case' for claiming reputational damage, according to two people close to the situation, although StanChart is conscious of the delicacy of taking an aggressive stance towards its regulators.
Standard Chartered Chief Executive Peter Sands said on Wednesday, adding the allegations had been 'very damaging'.
Bloomberg reports that Sands hit back at a New York regulator’s claims the bank broke U.S. sanctions, and said he saw 'no grounds' for revoking the lender’s license.
'We reject the position and portrayal of facts by the Department of Financial Services', Sands said on a conference call with reporters earlier this week, his first public comments since the regulator’s report on August 6th. 'It would be disproportionate and wholly inconsistent with the actions of other U.S. authorities in other sanctions matters' to revoke the bank’s New York license, he said.
Finally, Reuters reports that Standard Chartered's Group Finance Director Richard Meddings cursed Americans in a conversation cited by a New York watchdog pursuing a money laundering case against the British bank, people familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
However, Standard Chartered executive Ray Ferguson who attended the 2006 meeting in question, said Meddings' remark - rendered by the regulator as 'You f---ing Americans' - was not followed by the complaint about U.S. financial sanctions on Iran which was alleged by the New York state banking regulator.
And Sands told reporters on Wednesday: 'We don't believe the quote was accurate'.
image: © SMN
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