Credit Suisse agreed to a 238mn Euro penalty.
The deal resolves one of the Swiss lender’s outstanding headaches before a restructuring this week. The latest case is determined from a series of European investigations into undeclared Swiss bank accounts. In France alone, prosecutors have settled similar claims with HSBC and are pursuing penalties in court against UBS. The bank is set to unveil an overhaul under chief executive Ulrich Körner on Thursday and had been keen to clear the French probe beforehand, according to people familiar with the matter.
Part of the probe focused on how the bank captured 4,999 French clients, with assets under management amounting to a cumulative €2bn, according to the judge who oversaw the deal. In 2017, HSBC reached the first settlement using the new legal format in France, which allows parties to avoid a guilty plea in exchange for immediate penalties, similar to some US legal arrangements. HSBC agreed to pay €300mn to resolve claims it had lured French clients to its Swiss bank. The aviation group Airbus has delivered the most significant no-plea settlements of the 13 in France to date, with a €2bn penalty over bribery allegations.
I don't know if just letting companies or banks get away with certain things by just paying fines is enough. Shouldn't they be held accountable more so they aren't inclined to do it again in the future?
ReplyDeleteWhen you're dealing with assets amounting 2Bn Euros, 300 million Euros doesn't seem like that much of a deal. It's the best scenario for them as a bank.
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