French lender BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY.PK,BNP.L), which has agreed to pay $8.97 billion for U.S. sanctions violations, said it deeply regrets the past misconduct that led to this settlement.
According to the New York State Department of Financial Services, between 2002 and 2012, BNP Paribas concealed more than $190 billion in U.S. dollar clearing transactions on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian, and Cuban parties, which were settled through its New York branch and other New York-based financial institutions.
In a statement, Jean-Laurent Bonnafe, CEO of BNP Paribas, said: "We deeply regret the past misconduct that led to this settlement. The failures that have come to light in the course of this investigation run contrary to the principles on which BNP Paribas has always sought to operate.
Bonnafe added that the firm has announced a comprehensive plan to strengthen its internal controls and processes, in coordination with the US authorities and its home regulator.
The lender said the $8.97 billion payment would result in an exceptional charge of 5.8 billion euros to be booked in the second quarter.
BNP Paribas also accepts a temporary suspension of one year starting January 1, 2015 of the U.S. dollar direct clearing focused mainly on the Oil & Gas Energy & Commodity Finance business line in certain locations.
Based on its estimates, BNP Paribas expects its fully loaded Basel III CET ratio as at June 30 to be at around 10 percent, consistent with the Group's targets announced within its 2014-2016 business development plan.
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