C Suisse to pay £329m fine to US
CREDIT Suisse shocked the financial markets last night after it revealed it expected to pay US authorities a hefty $536m (£329m) following a probe into its financial dealings with Iran.
The Swiss bank said the settlement would likely result in a SFr445m charge this quarter, or a net impact of SFr360m after tax.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said this would be the biggest settlement to have ever been achieved in New York.
Credit Suisse said the negotiations related to “US dollar payments during the period 2002 to April 2007 involving parties that are subject to US economic sanctions”.
US-regulated financial institutions by law cannot do business with countries which are subject to economic sanctions.
The bank said it had terminated all business it did with countries under US sanction in 2006. It also closed its office in Tehran.
Credit Suisse said it is “committed to the highest standards of integrity and regulatory compliance in all its businesses, and takes this matter extremely seriously”.
The US authorities are believed to be investigating ten banks in relation to Iran.
Earlier this year, Lloyds Banking Group agreed to pay $350m for hiding Sudanese and Iranian transactions from the US authorities between 1995 and 2007.