Hefty fines given to major banks over last five years

After Swiss bank UBS was fined 3.7 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in a tax fraud case in France on Wednesday, here are some other hefty fines handed to top banks over the past five years.

– Societe Generale: sanctions violations –

In November 2018 US officials fined France’s Societe Generale $1.34 billion for violating US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and other countries.

The bank had already accepted in June to pay US and French authorities more than $1 billion to settle allegations that it bribed officials in Libya and manipulated the Libor interest rate benchmark.

– Wells Fargo: 2008 subprime crisis –

The US justice department announced in August 2018 that the American bank would pay $2.1 billion to settle charges it misrepresented the quality of home loans used in securities that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

Between 2005 and 2007, Wells Fargo was the second largest originator of such subprime loans sold by several banks, with payment defaults bringing the international financial system to the brink of collapse.

– RBS: subprime crisis –

In May 2018 Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to pay US regulators $4.9 billion in fines to settle litigation over its sale of subprime mortgage products.

– Barclays: fraud case –

The British banking giant agreed in March 2018 to pay a fine in the United States of $2 billion to resolve a fraud case involving subprime mortgage derivatives.

– Credit Suisse: helped tax dodging –

US authorities announced in January 2017 a $5.28 billion settlement with the European banking giant Credit Suisse over its role in the subprime crisis.

In May 2014 Credit Suisse pleaded guilty and was fined $2.6 billion for helping Americans avoid taxes. The fine was the largest until that point, part of a sweeping, years-long US push to force Switzerland to stop serving as a tax haven.

– Deutsche Bank: rigged interest rates –

The German banking giant agreed in December 2016 to pay a total of $7.2 billion to settle a case with the US Department of Justice over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis.

In April 2015 it had agreed to pay $2.5 billion in fines after admitting its guilt in a multi-bank conspiracy to rig Libor interest rates.

– Goldman Sachs: misled investors –

The US Justice Department announced in April 2016 final settlement that Goldman Sachs will pay $5.1 billion in fines and consumer relief to resolve charges it misled investors on mortgage-backed securities ahead of the housing bust.

– Six banks: manipulation –

British and US regulators announced in November 2014 $4.2 billion in fines against six major US and European banks for attempting to manipulate foreign exchange markets.

The banks involved were Britain’s HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), their US peers Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, and Swiss lender UBS.

– Bank of America: mortgage crisis –

Bank of America agreed in August 2014 to a record nearly $17 billion deal with US authorities to settle claims it sold risky mortgage securities as safe investments ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.

Under the settlement, the bank will pay out $9.65 billion in cash and provide $7.0 billion in relief to consumers affected by losses tied to those securities.

– BNP Paribas: sanctions busting –

BNP Paribas in June 2014 pleaded guilty to US criminal charges of violating sanctions on Cuba, Iran and Sudan for eight years and was fined a record $8.9 billion.

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