BNP may face one-year ban on processing some dollar payments - sources

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) - BNP Paribas is likely to be suspended from converting foreign currencies to dollars on behalf of clients in some businesses for as long as a year, according to sources familiar with the matter, an untested and severe penalty for the French bank accused of persistently violating U.S. sanctions laws.

The New York State Department of Financial Services, headed by Benjamin Lawsky, is near a deal with Paribas on the ban on currency conversions, known as dollar clearing, people said. The bar would be the first of its kind for a global bank.