HSBC pays $1.9bn to settle money-laundering probe

Banking giant HSBC today insisted it was a “fundamentally different organisation” as it confirmed it was paying $1.9 billion (£1.2bn) to settle claims it allowed rogue states and drug cartels to launder billions of pounds through its US arm.

Europe’s largest bank by market value said the settlement involves a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice, which means it will not be prosecuted if it meets certain conditions, such as strengthening internal controls to prevent money laundering.

Chief executive Stuart Gulliver said: “We accept responsibility for our past mistakes. We have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again.

“The HSBC of today is a fundamentally different organisation from the one that made those mistakes. Over the last two years, under new senior leadership, we have been taking concrete steps to put right what went wrong and to participate actively with government authorities in bringing to light and addressing these matters.”

Today’s agreement comes after Standard Chartered yesterday said it was paying $327m to reach a settlement with US authorities that accused it of violating sanctions against Burma, Iran, Libya and Sudan.