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StanChart Update: Standard Chartered is trying to settle New York state regulators' allegations it laundered money for Iran, ahead of a hearing scheduled Wednesday on whether the U.K. bank should keep its local license, the FT reports. However, there is a sizable bid-ask spread in the negotiations, as it were: Benjamin Lawsky's Department of Financial Services wanted $500 million, and StanChart came back with an offer of $5 million, which the regulator...

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Goldman Off the Hook: The Justice Department has decided it will not charge Goldman Sachs (or any of its employees) with financial crimes related to the mortgage crisis. Neither, apparently, will the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Goldman Sachs announced separately the SEC had informed it an investigation into a $1.3 billion subprime mortgage deal had come to an action-less end. The Justice Department said there was not enough evidence to file...

Receiving Wide Coverage ... StanChart Revisted: Remember how New York regulators were accusing Standard Chartered of helping Iranians launder $250 billion, but the British bank was only acknowledging $14 million in improper transactions? According to the FT, the discrepancy stems from StanChart's belief it used an exemption to U.S. sanction law, known as a U-turn. This exemption allowed banks operating in the U.S. to process transactions from rogue nations such as Iran so long as they...

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Every Banker for Himself: Sources tell the Times the London Interbank Offered Rate scandal is leading banks to turn on one another. Government and bank officials close to the Libor investigations say implicated banks are using Barclays' $450 million settlement as a "guidepost" in their discussions with authorities. The go-to line seems to be that one's bank wasn't as bad as its counterparts and, therefore, should not be so severely penalized. ...

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Making Dollars on Data: As financial institutions turn to technology for revenue, efforts have been made to capitalize on personal data. American Express's Serve, for example, banks on the idea merchants will pay for spending habit data captured by the digital platform. But, as this article from CNNMoney illustrates, there are other, possibly better ways to capitalize on the data craze. According to the article, several start-ups are developing "data lockers," a...