Madrid - State-appointed managers at Andorra's Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA) have capped cash withdrawals in an attempt to contain the damage from US allegations the bank laundered money for international criminal gangs.
The mountainous principality between France and Spain is heavily reliant on financial services. Standard & Poor's (S&P) has said the problems at BPA - a lender which it said represented about a fifth of all assets and liabilities in the Andorran banking system - could strain the national finances.
Andorra took over the management of the bank after the US department of the treasury described it last week as an "easy vehicle" for criminal gangs in Russia, China and Venezuela to funnel their profits.