American regulators exacted large fines from hsbc and Standard Chartered. Your article noted that there was disagreement about the size of those fines ("Too big to jail", December 15th). The more serious flaw with the manner of prosecution is that there was no criminal action against any of the banks' staff. Corporations act through their employees and executives. If the action taken is criminal, then a person did the act. Those people act rationally. With little being done to bring criminal charges against company employees, there is little deterrence in current enforcement policies.
展开▼
