Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, wrote a memo to staff saying he could not reassure regulators the bank did not facilitate the financing of terrorism and other criminal activities, the FT reported.

“Between 2004 and 2010, our anti-money laundering controls should have been stronger and more effective, and we failed to spot and deal with unacceptable behaviour,” Gulliver wrote.

This comes a week after Barclays was fined £290m by both UK and US regulators for manipulating LIBOR, the rate in which banks lend to each other.

RBS is also reportedly facing a fine of £1.5bn if its traders are found to have carried out similar wrongdoing.

Dutch bank, ING, had agreed to settle $619m with US authorities after accusations that the bank was helping Iranian and Cuban companies move substantial sums through the US financial system.

Lloyds, Credit Suisse and Barclays have also been fined in the past following US investigations into failures relating to money laundering and sanction breaches.

HSBC will face the US Senate’s investigative panel on 17 July.