Standard Chartered Plc tanks on buzz of losing NY license over Iran ties

The bank violated U.S money laundering law by conducting $250 billion of transactions with Iranian banks.

Standard Chartered Plc, the lone India listed foreign bank, has dipped over 7% at Rs 96 on reports that the New York's top bank regulator threatened to strip the state banking license of Standard Chartered Plc, on violating of U.S money laundering law by conducting $250 billion of transactions with Iranian banks.

“The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) on Monday said the British bank "schemed" with the Iranian government and hid from law-enforcement officials some 60,000 secret transactions to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in fees over nearly 10 years,” the Reuters report suggests.

In a filing to the stock exchanges, Standard Chartered Plc said, the Group is conducting a review of its historical US sanctions compliance and is discussing that review with U.S. enforcement agencies and regulators. The Group cannot predict when this review and these discussions will be completed or what the outcome will be.”

The stock opened at Rs 96.50 and hit a low of Rs 88.60 on the BSE. As many as a combined 358,323 shares have already changed hands on the counter in morning deals, against an average less than 100,000 shares that were traded daily in past two weeks.