NERA Economic Consulting has recently published an analysis of
the penalties imposed by the UK financial regulator since April
20121. The startling headline is that the level of
fines in the 18 months since April 2012 is over £1bn, whereas
in the previous decade fines totaled less than £320m.
What is the reason behind this massive increase? Has the FCA
(which took over from the FSA in April 2013) just got tougher, or
has it been easier to impose fines because the 'accused'
have been major firms and High Street banks with long pockets and a
propensity to settle, and because the issues under consideration
since 2012, mainly the benchmark cases of Libor and Forex, have
provided ample excuse for large fines? In addition, has the
even higher level of fines imposed in the US for similar misconduct
prompted an escalation in both tariff and expectation?
