The financial prosecutor added in a statement that the settlement was the first of its kind under a new French legal framework.

It also said that two former directors of HSBC's Swiss private bank remained subject to possible legal action.

Earlier on Tuesday, HSBC said it would make the payment to settle the long-running probe into tax dodging by French citizens via its private bank in Switzerland.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Ingrid Melander)