Standard Chartered CEO in New York, Shareholders Push for Quick Settlement

Peter Sands, CEO of Standard Chartered, has flown to New York to personally take charge of the bank’s attempts to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators over allegations it hid transactions involving Iran.

The London-based bank has been told by the New York banking regulator that it must demonstrate at a hearing set for Wednesday why its state banking license should not be revoked over the transactions. Sands will work with the bank’s lawyers attempting to negotiate a settlement over the issue with U.S. authorities and plans to attend the hearing.

New York’s Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky alleged last week that Standard Chartered had hidden Iran-linked transactions with a total value of $250 billion. Lawsky called the bank a “rogue institution” for breaking U.S. sanctions. Sands has denied the allegations and says that the total amount that failed to adhere to the sanctions was less than $14 million.

The bank also has come under pressure from shareholders to settle early rather than engage in an extended legal battle. And Britain’s finance minister George Osborne has reportedly engaged in “quiet diplomacy” to ensure Standard Chartered will receive a fair hearing.