Habib Bank to address US concerns over its operations

NEW YORK (APP) - The head of New York Branch of Habib Bank said Friday that several steps have been put in place to address the concerns of US authorities after the bank was barred from conducting any dollar-clearing transactions or accepting any new accounts for US dollar clearing as of Dec. 11.

"We take our regulatory obligations very seriously, Manochere Alamgir, general manager of Habib New York branch, told APP.

In an order Thursday, New York Department of Financial Services forbade the bank from taking on new correspondent accounts in the U.S. without written approval.

It called for Habib Bank to hire an outside monitor to oversee its anti-money laundering controls and its dollar clearing transactions, with an eye toward ensuring that none of those transactions violated U.S. sanctions imposed through the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control.

"We have already taken several steps to address and meet those concerns and we intend to make sure everything gets done in a way that is acceptable to all the stakeholders, including the regulators," Alamgir said. The measures include hiring of third party advisers and consultants.

A recent exam found HBL's risk management had broken down, as well as its compliance with laws such as the Bank Secrecy Act and regulations issued by the US Treasury Department, according to the order.