Europe Bankers Cringe as Fines Climb in U.S. BNP Skirmish
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HSBC Holdings Plc Chairman Douglas Flint had some advice for bank executives meeting in London last week: Read up on how the U.S. uses financial warfare against its enemies in a foreign-policy shift that’s entangling lenders.
Since HSBC agreed to pay $1.9 billion to settle money-laundering probes in the U.S. 18 months ago, the largest such accord at the time, the Department of Justice has magnified its demands. It wants a guilty plea and a $10 billion fine from France’s BNP Paribas SA for doing business in sanctioned nations such as Sudan and Iran, people with knowledge of the matter say.