New provision for money laundering breaches escalates a penalty facing British bank HSBC to nearly £1bn.

HSBC will tomorrow prolong the latest wave of financial penalties for Britain’s banks by setting aside hundreds of millions of pounds more to cover settlements for breaching anti-money laundering rules. (Sky News) I have learned that HSBC will raise the likely bill for fines from US authorities to as much as $1.5bn (£935m) in its third-quarter results, a move that will underline the growing seriousness of the probes into the conduct of one of Britain’s biggest lenders. The revised estimate will mean HSBC allocating $800m (£500m) to potential penalties in its accounts for the three months to the end of September following a $700m (£437m) hit disclosed in its half-year results in July, analysts say. The expected fines relate to inadvertent breaches by HSBC of anti-money laundering procedures in its Mexican operations which are now under investigation by a string of powerful US watchdogs. If the eventual settlement does reach as high as $1.5bn, it would be one of the largest punishments ever meted out to a British bank. News of the fine comes just days before the US Presidential Election and in the wake of public concerns from British regulators over the handling of banking misconduct inquiries by their American counterparts.....Read more here: HSBC Hit By £500m Money Laundering Charge