Standard Chartered shares bounce after £217m US deal

STANDARD Chartered led the Footsie leaders’ board last night after the bank’s revelation less than 24 hours earlier that it had agreed to pay $340 million (£217m) to settle with the New York financial regulator on banned Iranian transactions.

Chief executive Peter Sands remained in the US yesterday as the London-based lender said it continued talks with other American agencies to agree a comprehensive settlement.

A group spokesman said: “Negotiations are going on between the other agencies, and we are talking to them. It is safe to assume there will now be a collective agreement.”

He declined to indicate a likely timeframe. Standard, which has its business overwhelmingly focused on Asian and emerging markets, is still the subject of inquiries by the Federal Reserve, Justice Department, New York prosecutors and the US Treasury.

Shares in the group closed up 56.5p, or 4.1 per cent, at 1,426.5p.

New York’s financial services superintendent Benjamin Lawsky said on 6 August that Standard had hidden Iran-linked transactions with a total value of $250bn. He branded the group a “rogue institution” for breaking US sanctions against financial dealing with Iran.

Sands hit back at the time at what he called “disproportionate” allegations. But the shares shed over 30 per cent of their value within 24 hours, ratcheting up the pressure on the Standard boss to do a deal with the regulators.