US to use bank blacklisting power strictly

A senior US Treasury official on Wednesday warned that the US plans to be more aggressive in blacklisting foreign ‘rogue banks’ from the US financial system.

‘‘We are looking at various institutions involved in an assortment of criminal activity. If we have concrete evidence that will legally justify our actions, we want to take action to make the world aware and our financial institutions aware of these banks,’’ Treasury’s executive office for terrorist financing and financial crimes deputy assistant secretary Juan Zarate said. However, he declined to specify how many institutions are being looked at or when action would be taken. Zarate also declined to specify in which region potential targets resided, saying the Treasury was looking at institutions across the world. In November, the US government designated two Burma-based banks as ‘primary money laundering concerns,’ allowing the Treasury to prohibit US banks from keeping correspondent accounts with institutions or individuals there as a way to seal off access to the US financial system. And, according to Zarate, it won’t be the last.