The woes of the banking industry show no sign of letting up, with the Royal Bank of Scotland now reportedly under U.S. scrutiny over potential Iran sanction violations.
News of the investigation, which follows the furore over U.S. allegations that Standard Chartered hid $250billion in Iranian transactions, sent RBS shares down 2 per cent in early trading.
The U.S. Federal Reserve and Department of Justice are conducting the inquiry into RBS, according to the Financial Times, which cited several people close to the situation.
The investigation comes after the UK bank volunteered information to U.S. and UK regulators 18 months ago, the Financial Times said.
The paper reported that the bank had uncovered alleged failings after boss Stephen Hester launched an internal review not long after his arrival.
But it added that unlike Standard Chartered, RBS is not under investigation by Benjamin Lawsky – the New York regulator who made lurid claims about money laundering which he said had exposed the U.S. to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes.
