Commerzbank drawn into U

An RBS spokeswoman declined detailed comment on Wednesday but referred to disclosures published with the bank's half year results earlier this month.The inquiry raises the possibility of a substantial punishment for the part nationalized British bank, which is also being investigated for its involvement in the Libor rate rigging scandal,ATL Ultrasonic probe ramping up pressure on Chief Executive Stephen Hester.The United States first imposed sanctions on Iran more than 30 years ago but has tightened them in recent years as it tries to stifle Tehran's nuclear program. economic sanctions regulations".These followed an internal review begun by Hester shortly after his arrival at the bank in 2008."The investigation costs, remediation required or liability incurred could have a material adverse effect on the group's net assets, operating results or cash flows in a particular period," the bank said. RBS had been making similar disclosures for the past 18 months, the spokeswoman said.The scale of the transactions being investigated at RBS, which is 82 percent owned by the taxpayer, was not clear. Federal Reserve and Department of Justice were conducting the investigation, citing several people close to the situation.Haiying Transducer It cited a person familiar with the situation as saying one risk manager had already left the bank following the internal review.A spokesman for the Federal Reserve said it could not "comment on supervisory matters pertaining to individual institutions". embargoes, and pointed out that other banks had paid large settlements to end such investigations."The financial impact of the procedure and its termination cannot be predicted and could exceed eventual provisions, which could have considerably negative consequences," Commerzbank said. probes would be. embassy and took diplomats hostage. banks could process some transactions for Iranian banks or individuals provided they were initiated offshore by non Iranian foreign banks and were on the way to other non Iranian foreign banks.The European Union has also imposed sanctions, including a ban on trading Iranian oil, due to fears that Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. dollars and euros.The United Nations Security Council has also introduced more limited restrictions.Standard Chartered agreed last week to pay $340 million to the New York bank regulator after it was accused of concealing $250 billion in Iranian transactions. The London based bank joined a long list of lenders which have been punished for doing business with sanctioned states such as Iran and Cuba.Barclays Plc, Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Credit Suisse and ING Bank NV have agreed to fines and settlements totaling $1.8 billion, while regulatory filings show that HSBC Holdings Plc is under investigation. sanction laws. and UK regulators over its involvement in the Libor scandal later this year. It has also endured problems on the domestic front, with a computer systems failure causing massive disruption to customers in June.Shares in RBS were down 0.4 percent to 236.5 pence at 1120GMT. Commerzbank's shares were down 1.5 percent at 1.27 euros by 1120 GMT. The STOXX Europe 600 banking index was down 0.8 percent. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.