US launches financial attacks against its allies!

The United States and Britain have claimed they have “special relations” for a long period. But recently, the United States has cracked down on large British banks successively.

Barclays Bank was accused of manipulating the interest rate. HSBC Bank was charged of laundering money for drug cartels. Presently, Standard Chartered Bank also turns into the target of U.S. Financial Regulatory Agency.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) said that since Standard Chartered Bank violated the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Law and sanctions law against Iran, its business license would be revoked. At first, the Standard Chartered Bank denied the accusation and wanted to file a counterclaim. Experts in the City of London also blamed the DFS for its dictatorship. But a dramatic change subsequently occurred. The Standard Chartered Bank accepted the solution of being fined 340 million U.S. dollars and saved its license in the New York City.

Regarding the attack, the British government has not responded.

Why did U.S. Financial Regulatory Agency crack down upon large British banks one after another? Why did British government tolerate these attacks silently? 

For the United States, there are three reasons.

Politically, in the general election year, the United States does not have the energy to launch a military operation against Iran and therefore it pays more attention to the implementation of sanctions against Iran.

Diplomatically, the United States wants to warn large European banks not to take any chance on the sanctions against Iran, which also frightens other European allies of the United States.

Financially, striking large British banks and belittling the role of Britain as the global financial center are favorable for the Wall Street.

On the British side, although the financial circle opposed that the United States attacked the British banks with sanctions law as an excuse, it did not mention the British banks’ pursuit of profits regardless of professional ethics. That is the reason why the Britain still resorted to the fastest resolution of the scandal in face of U.S. “extortion”.

Britain is not the only country having “special relations” with the United States. Recently, U.S. Financial Regulatory Agency pays close attention to the Deutsche Bank. Obviously, neither Standard Chartered Bank nor the Deutsche Bank is the last target of the United States.

Read the Chinese version: 美国向盟友挥起“金融大棒”, source: People's Daily Overseas Edition, author: Li Wenyun
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