Statistics from Boston Consulting Group suggest that banks’ punishment for crisis-era misconduct is starting to slow down. Danielle Myles reports.

Financial penalties paid by North American and European banks in 2017 were down 48% on the previous year, according to analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

In its report Global Risk 2018: Future-Proofing the Bank Risk Agenda, the consulting group found that the regions’ 50 biggest lenders paid regulators $22bn in settlements or fines last year. The only post-crisis year to generate a lower volume was 2010, when banks coughed up $8bn.

BCG noted that most of the 2017 penalties related to mis-selling and improper conduct which occurred in years past. The most punishing years were 2013 and 2014, a 24-month period in which banks collectively handed over more than $150bn in penalties.

North American regulators and banks were, respectively, the primary givers and receivers of 2017’s fines.

Since 2009, BCG’s sample of banks have paid some $345bn in financial penalties.

For more on bank fines, see The Banker’s ‘Another fine mess? How penalties are calculated’.

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