The United States could impose a USD 10 B penalty on French bank BNP Paribas for violating sanctions against Iran, Cuba, and Sudan.

If this is to happen, it will be the highest ever penalty imposed on a bank, by a margin of over USD 8 B, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In response, the Governor of the Bank of France, Christian Noyer, said earlier this month that BNP Paribas has not violated French or European laws.

A final decision is unlikely to come out for several weeks at least, but sources familiar with the settlement discussions say the figure could be less than USD 8 B. Another possible outcome is that BNP would not be able to make US transactions.

BNP officials have warned US authorities that restricting dollar transactions could seriously destabilize the bank. However, they have also said that BNP has some EUR 90 B worth of equities, which would allow them to minimize the impact of such a large-scale settlement.