Standard Chartered has agreed to pay $340m (£217m) to New York regulators to settle claims that it hid transactions with Iran

Shares rose in early trade this morning after the announcement, by more than 6 per cent in Hong Kong and as much as 5.1 per cent in London.

The UK-headquartered bank was threatened with losing its US banking licence after it was accused of laundering as much as $250bn. The bank had admitted that some of its transactions did break US sanctions, but said the amount totalled just $14m.

The $340m settlement has been described as a “civil penalty” and will be paid to the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) 

The DFS will also install staff on site at the bank to evaluate money-laundering controls at the New York branch and report directly to the DFS.

The rest of this article can be read in economia.