LONDON |By Barclays analysts | The interim nuclear deal concluded this weekend marks an important first step that could eventually lead to the normalization of relations between Iran and the west. However we believe the path to a final deal, one that would lead to the removal of the most sweeping sanctions, remains challenging given that some key stakeholders could act as spoilers.
For days, Standard Chartered executives had been negociating with multiple law-enforcement officials in New York in order to settle claims that it laundered $250 million for Iran. The final move came on Tuesday, when the british bank decided to open its wallet. The $340 million deal is huge, only beaten by the one reached by the Justice Department and the Manhattan district attorney over money laundering charges with ING bank…
It’s definitely not the best time for British banks. The last one under the spotlight is Standard and Chartered, until now regarded as a darling of the financial sector. The emerging markets-focused lender which managed to escape the effects of Europe’s debt crisis may now lose its operating licence in New York: US regulators alleged it hid $250 billion in transactions with Iran over nearly a decade. According to the…
By Carlos Días Guell, in Madrid | In the Middle East, drums of war have for months now been sounding and this has triggered potential risks that could push oil prices higher than ever seen before. The worst scenario, though the least likely, would be one in which the tensions between Iran and the West rise to such an extent that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and oil supplies cut. The last…
