KBE - U.S. banks on watch for sanctions against Taliban broadening in Afghanistan - WSJ

American banks are exercising more caution on transactions with Afghan counterparts as they wait for guidance from U.S. officials on whether sanctions on the Taliban will apply across the country now that the Islamist group is in control, the Wall Street Journal reports. That comes as the two big U.S. money-transfer services — Western Union (NYSE:WU) and MoneyGram International (NASDAQ:MGI) — halt payments into Afghanistan. Those payments are an important source of support for many Afghan families. The Financial Action Task Force, a global terror-finance watchdog organization, warned member countries that they must freeze assets of the Taliban given its designation as a terrorist group assigned by the U.S., the United Nations, and other countries. Given that the Taliban has taken control of institutions of state, markets, and key industries, finance officials are expressing concern that the sanctions will apply to a broader range of transactions, the WSJ said. So far the

For further details see:

U.S. banks on watch for sanctions against Taliban broadening in Afghanistan - WSJ