Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest bank, will co-operate with a probe by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and said it supports efforts to combat money laundering.

“We support U.S. efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering defenses and protect the integrity of the financial system through our rigorous new internal processes and through our close working partnership with regulators,” HSBC said in an e-mailed statement today. “We have ongoing discussions with officials” including the Senate subcommittee on “a number” of compliance matters, HSBC said. “In all cases, we are cooperating.”

HSBC North America Holdings Inc. and a subsidiary, HSBC Bank USA, reached agreements in 2010 with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board to make changes to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, a U.S. law that combats money laundering.

“We are the subject of ongoing investigations, including Grand Jury subpoenas and other requests for information, by U.S. government and state agencies, including the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations,” the London-based bank’s U.S. division, HSBC USA Inc., said in a statement in November. Reuters reported the disclosure earlier today, saying it may result in a hearing and a report.

--Editors: Edward Evans, Francis Harris

To contact the reporter on this story: Howard Mustoe in London at hmustoe@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net