The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation today released data on the total public financial penalties imposed on financial institutions in the United States through the second quarter of 2014. Public financial penalties include public class action settlements that arise from class action lawsuits brought by the government (e.g., state attorneys-general) and regulatory penalties that follow enforcement actions by regulatory agencies including the SEC, CFTC, and others.
In the second quarter of 2014, total public financial penalties amounted to $15.5 billion in the quarter, largely consisting of a nearly $9 billion fine on BNP Paribas. The substantial second quarter total pushes the aggregate amount of financial penalties imposed in 2014 to $27.3 billion, versus $22.6 billion at the same point in 2013. Given the current pace of penalties as compared to 2013 and with further significant fines expected to be upcoming in the third quarter, 2014 likely will exceed the record annual total of 2013. The data show that financial institutions in the U.S. continue to face historically unprecedented public financial penalties.
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The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization dedicated to improving the regulation of U.S. capital markets. The Committee’s membership includes thirty-three leaders drawn from the finance, investment, business, law, accounting, and academic communities. The Committee is chaired jointly by R. Glenn Hubbard (Dean, Columbia Business School) and John L. Thornton (Chairman, The Brookings Institution) and directed by Prof. Hal S. Scott (Nomura Professor and Director of the Program on International Financial Systems, Harvard Law School).
For Further Information:
Hal S. Scott, Director
Committee on Capital Markets Regulation
info@capmktsreg.org
(617) 495-4590
A PDF of this press release may be viewed here.