French finance minister sees progress towards ‘more equitable’ US fine for BNP Paribas

Paris: France’s finance minister said on Sunday that discussions between BNP Paribas and US authorities over a potential fine for sanctions-busting had progressed towards a “more equitable” level.

US authorities including the New York financial regulator are investigating whether BNP evaded US sanctions against Iran, Sudan and other countries between 2002 and 2009, which could lead to a fine of $10 billion for France’s biggest bank.

“I think we have made progress towards more equitable penalties,” finance minister Michel Sapin said in an interview on Europe 1 radio and news channel iTele.

“We need to reach a conclusion,” he added, saying that the uncertainty was over the matter was “not good”. Reuters