Pakistani bank agrees to U.S. money-launder order

Dec 21 (Reuters) - The New York branch of Pakistan's Habib Bank Ltd. has agreed to address deficiencies in its compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering laws, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and the New York state Banking Department said on Thursday.

In a joint statement, the regulators said Habib Bank has agreed to submit acceptable written Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance procedures and internal controls. The program must include a transaction monitoring system and filing of suspicious activity reports on transactions that do not fit the routine business patterns of the bank's customer base.

The statement did not identify what deficiencies were found at the Habib Bank's New York branch.

But the agencies said the bank's plans must be submitted within 60 days and be independently tested.

The anti-money laundering components must include controls for correspondent banking and funds transfer clearing activities, procedures to ensure identification and verification of the identity of account holders and compliance with requirements relating to correspondent accounts for non-U.S. people, including prohibitions on correspondent accounts for foreign shell banks, the regulators said.

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