The news dragged the company's shares down as much as 3 percent on Wednesday, making them the top loser on the French blue-chip CAC 40 index and on the European banking index during trading hours. The stock closed down 1.3 percent at 51 euros.

Discussions about the penalty amount are continuing and the final amount could change, the report said. (http://r.reuters.com/tac59v)

BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, was in talks with U.S. authorities to pay more than $3 billion to resolve probes into whether it violated U.S. sanctions on Iran, Sudan and other countries, Reuters reported last week citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank warned last month it faced fines in excess of $1.1 billion over the matter, but declined to provide a specific number.

The probes are being conducted by the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Manhattan District Attorney's office, and the New York Department of Financial Services.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan and BNP Paribas declined to comment, while other U.S. authorities could not be reached for comment.

The settlement could be announced as early as next month, the Bloomberg report said.

(Reporting by Arnab Sen in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)