Money-laundering operations of the size and scale previously boasted by HSBC are not dismantled in a day. Or 730 days. But within 1,826 days? They definitely won’t be the banker of choice for drug cartels or rogue states anymore. So just cool your heels, Michael Cherkasky.

“It’s hard to imagine that we would have a monitorship where, after two years, they’re not saying, ‘You have more work to do,’ ” said Stuart Levey, chief legal officer at the bank, though he declined to discuss details of the monitoring. He added that the bank is “on track” to meet the terms of the five-year monitorship and deferred-prosecution agreement and is making “excellent progress” with its anti-money-laundering efforts.

HSBC Struggles in Battle Against Money Laundering [WSJ]