TARP and regulatory fines
Moneylaundering.com shares an interesting insight. US Federal regulators that uncover anti-money laundering lapses at banks could face an unusual challenge this year: how to penalize an institution that has been propped up with government money. Financial regulators, including the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve, could be forced to either discount fines to avoid exacting taxpayer money for bank mistakes or increase penalty amounts so that federal aid does little to soften the blow, said former FDIC examiner Joe Gunnell. A change to non-cash penalties seems likely; regulators could force bank to change their AML programs, adjust procedures or drop a particular product all together.
