HSBC to pay $1.9 billion settlement BANKINGRecord HSBC settlementFederal and state authorities plan to announce a record $1.9 billion settlement with British banking giant HSBC on Tuesday, a major victory in the government's broad crackdown on money laundering at banks. The settlement stems from accusations that HSBC transferred billions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned nations like Iran and enabled Mexican drug cartels to launder money through the U.S. financial system, according to officials briefed on the matter. "The agency's lack of independent assessment limits its capacity to ensure that the costs associated with senior professional compensation are warranted," the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General said in the report. BIOTECHAmgen to buy DeCodeAmgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, agreed to buy the Icelandic genetic research company DeCode Genetics Inc. for $415 million to help it develop new medicines that target defective DNA.