STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 30 June 2014

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9. BNP Paribas Dollar-Clearing Ban Said to Start in 2015

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-30/bnp-dollar-clearing-ban-said-delayed-as-guilty-plea-looms.html

June 30 (Bloomberg) -- BNP Paribas SA won a reprieve during final talks to settle a criminal probe into U.S. sanctions violations, giving the bank six months to prepare for a ban on handling certain dollar transactions, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Authorities in the U.S. rebuffed a last-ditch push by the bank to slash an $8.9 billion penalty, two other people said, asking not to be identified because talks are private. The yearlong ban on dollar clearing could affect specific business lines, such as oil and gas transactions, and certain offices, such as Geneva, where the alleged illegal transactions took place, a person familiar with the terms said last week.

BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, is poised to plead guilty today in Manhattan federal court, ending years of investigation by accepting a record penalty for violating U.S. sanctions against rogue nations, people familiar with the case have said. The talks with state and federal authorities in the U.S. had drawn warnings from French officials against levying disproportionate fines that could harm their nation’s economy and Europe’s banking system.

BNP Paribas, suspected of hiding about $30 billion in transactions, will probably plead guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a person familiar with the discussions said last week. The Paris-based bank’s board met over the weekend to approve the deal, according to the Financial Times, which reported the delay on the dollar-clearing ban yesterday.