UPDATE 2-NY regulator wants info from Goldman, banks on Panama firm dealings -source

(Adds details about prior NYDFS request, no comment from
Standard Chartered )
By Suzanne Barlyn
May 11 (Reuters) - New York State's financial regulator has
asked Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) GS.N and three foreign banks for
information about shell companies set up through a Panamanian
law firm, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) also
requested the same type of shell company information from BNP
Paribas SA BNPP.PA , Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM.TO
and Standard Chartered Plc STAN.L , the person said.
Goldman is the only U.S. bank the NYDFS has contacted about
the request, the person said.
Spokespeople for Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered
declined to comment. Representatives for BNP Paribas SA and
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce did not immediately return
calls requesting comment.
The move by NYDFS comes weeks after the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) worked with media
outlets including The Guardian and BBC to report on 11.5 million
leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack
Fonseca.
The documents, which have come to be known as the Panama
Papers, contained information on about 214,000 offshore
companies and showed how individuals and corporations were able
to hide assets and avoid taxes. The ICIJ made its database of
documents publicly available on Monday.
Last month, the NYDFS sent a similar request to 13 banks,
including Deutsche Bank AG DBKGn.DE , Credit Suisse Group AG
CSGN.S , Commerzbank AG CBKG.DE , ABN Amro Group NV ABNd.AS
and Societe Generale SA SOGN.PA .
NYDFS had requested details about the 13 banks'
communications, telephone records and details of other dealings
between their New York branches and employees or agents of
Mossack Fonseca.
The NYDFS letter also asks the banks to disclose any
internal or external investigations involving the law firm or
shell companies they helped to set up.
None of the banks contacted by NYDFS have been accused of
wrongdoing.
Bloomberg reported the most recent letter earlier on
Wednesday.