Fines for misconduct in the banking sector – what is the situation in the EU?

Abstract

The US system for addressing bank misconduct through fines delivers a number of lessons for the EU with regard to the design of bank enforcement architecture and the need to develop common approaches across national and EU levels with a view to avoiding regulatory arbitrage. Following the crisis, the highest money penalties imposed on banks in the US related to mis-selling of financial products – a criminal offence falling under the remit of Department of Justice – rather than to breaches of prudential supervisory requirements.