Another month, another fine. Last week it was announced that five of the world’s biggest banks would pay $6bn to settle allegations that they manipulated the foreign exchange markets. Will the expected admissions of guilt, together with the accompanying payments, permit the banks to put the past behind them? They hope it will; I fear it will not.
This is a big settlement that settles little. Once again the fines are likely to be paid with shareholders’ money. No senior managers will go to jail. The details of who did what, and who failed in their responsibilities, are likely to be swept under an already lumpy carpet.
The link between responsibility and accountability will remain broken. This looks once again like a two-tier justice system that has one set of penalties for the public, and another for the financial establishment that claims to serve it. Seven years after the crash, it is this utter unfairness that feeds the well of resentment against the banks.