Banks, Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation, USA

Danske disclosed on Thursday that it had received requests for information from the U.S. Department of Justice. But it said the timing and outcome of the probe into alleged money-laundering through its small Estonian branch was unknown.

"We are cooperating with the authorities investigating us as a result of the case. However, it is too early to speculate on any outcome of the investigations," Jesper Nielsen, Danske's interim CEO, said.

The Danish government has said that it is doing everything to avoid Danske suffering the same fate as ABLV, a Latvian lender that was forced to liquidate itself earlier this year after U.S. authorities ordered banks to stop clearing dollars on its behalf.

Analysts predict Danske could face billions of dollars in fines over the scandal. According to analysts at Jyske Bank, the fine could end up being 8 bln dollars both in the U.S. and Europe.

The Wall Street Journal reported in mid-September that the Justice Department, Treasury Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are each examining Danske Bank after a confidential whistleblower complaint was filed to the SEC more than two years ago.