Bank of England’s Open Forum: Osborne warns big bank fines aren’t a thing of the past
Chancellor George Osborne has warned the huge fines levied on some of the world's biggest banks aren't a thing of the past, and will still serve to deter bad behaviour by bankers in the future.
"If anyone thinks being unethical in the financial services industry is a good way to make money, I'd suggest they take a look at the very, very large fines a number of institutions have had to pay … and ask whether it was worth [it]."
Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have handed out huge fines to banks such as Barclays, HSBC and RBS for their for their role in scandals such as Libor and forex manipulation.
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Osborne was speaking at the Bank of England's Open Forum event, which brings together a range of stakeholders to discuss questions about how financial markets can be regulated to best promote prosperity.
The weaknesses in monitoring and oversight exposed by the rate-rigging scandals, as well as the global financial crisis, have made financial market regulation increasingly topical issues.