Dubai –Mubasher: Mashreq Bank on Thursday revealed it has agreed to a consent order with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) over compliance issues.
Upon the agreement, findings related to the New York Branch’s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) programme and gaps in the execution of its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions compliance programme are being addressed, the Dubai-based lender said in a statement.
The Dubai-listed bank added that these findings were identified during regulatory examinations in 2016 and 2017, noting that the consent order did not “specify any willful violation.”
Mashreq Bank has been operating in New York for around 30 years and it has been maintaining efforts to work alongside regulators in reinforcing its compliance programs, the statement highlighted.
“As acknowledged in the consent order, the DFS gave substantial weight to the laudable conduct of Mashreqbank in demonstrating a keen interest in, and commitment to, remediating the issues addressed in the consent order, including by devoting substantial financial and corporate resources to enhancing the compliance function at the New York Branch, and in building an effective and sustainable BSA/AML & Sanctions Compliance infrastructure,” it added.
Moreover, the Emirate bank has agreed to pay a total of $40 million to the DFS under the terms of the settlement, according to the statement.
The New York Branch will carry on offering correspondent banking and trade finance services.
Mashreq Bank will keep providing its customers with superior and robust banking services while improving its compliance with regulatory expectations.
