US authorities will announce early next week that French banking giant BNP Paribas has agreed to pay an $8.9bn (£5.2bn) fine for allegedly violating sanctions rules, reports suggest.
The bank will also, unusually, admit guilt, according to the Financial Times and The New York Times.
BNP plans to slash its dividends and issue billions of euros of bonds to pay the fine, the Wall Street Journal said.
The bank is accused of breaking sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba.
This is alleged to have taken place between 2002 and 2009.
The reported size of the fine could almost wipe out BNP's entire 2013 pre-tax income of about $11.2bn.
In April, BNP Paribas said it had set aside $1.1bn to cover the cost of US penalties, but warned that the "amount of the fines could be far in excess of the amount of the provision".
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