U.S. authorities step up probes of European banks: report

The U.S. Justice Department and other authorities have stepped up investigations into several large European banks for violating sanctions against Iran, Libya, Cuba and Sudan, the Financial Times reported in its online edition.

Some banks have started to discuss settlements and could agree to financial penalties by the end of the year, the FT said, citing one person familiar with the probes.

Some of the banks, whose names have not been disclosed, came under scrutiny when they alerted the government to potential violations after a money-laundering settlement by ABN AMRO in 2005, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Spokespersons at the U.S. Justice Department were not immediately available for comment.