KARACHI: United Bank Ltd (UBL) moved to assuage market concerns after news of fresh action by the US Federal Reserve Bank on its operations in the New York branch.

In a press release, the bank said “no civil penalty has been imposed” and fears of a fine on the bank are ungrounded. The release was transmitted to the bank’s shareholders at 9am on Friday.”UBL and its New York branch have entered into a new written agreement with New York Fed) effective July 2, 2018,” the release said.

“This follows upon the termination of written agreement earlier signed on Oct 28, 2013 which was primarily related to the New York branch’s international remittance services.”

The bank reiterated that it is “committed and focused on the successful completion and implementation” of the latest agreement with the Fed. It “requires UBL to take steps to strengthen its Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance, Customer Due Diligence and Suspicious Activity Monitoring and Reporting programmes.

As stated in the 2018 agreement, it is the common goal of the Fed, UBL that the New York branch operates in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations.”

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2018