HSBC said yesterday it will pay $1.9 billion to settle a money-laundering probe by federal and state authorities in the United States.

The probe of the bank, Europe's largest by market value, has focused on the transfer of billions of dollars on behalf of nations like Iran, which are under international sanctions, and the transfer of money through the U.S. financial system from Mexican drug cartels.

Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive of HSBC, released a statement Tuesday saying: "We accept responsibility for our past mistakes. We have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again."