Data acquired by Finbold indicates that only three countries account for 97.32% of all bank fines issued in 2020. As of October 22nd, a total of €11.61 billion fines had been issued by various regulators.
Fines likely to increase significantly
The data shows that United States banks are the most fined at €9.15 billion, followed by Australia at € 770 million, while Israel banks have been fined €762.97 million.
On the other hand, Sweden bank fines are the fourth highest at € 456.18 million, while German banks accounted for the fifth-highest penalties at €169.01 million.
Goldman Sachs is the most fined bank this year at €5.26 billion over various violations. Wells Fargo carries the second-highest fines at € 2.53 billion. Australia’s Westpac bank has the third-highest penalties at € 770 million, followed by Israel’s Bank of Hapoalim at €762.97 million.
Other highly fined banks include Sweden’s Swedbank at €360 million and Germany’s Deutsche at €126.52 million.
Finbold issued a future outlook for banks fines in 2020. According to the chief editor Oliver Scott:
“Notably, the tally of bank fines is likely to increase in the coming years as European and Asian regulators catch up with U.S peers who are considered more aggressive. However, banks are looking for means of minimizing fines. Analysts have been of the opinion that the fines could have been avoided if banks leverage technology through the deployment of perfect software.”
The research notes that violations of anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer policies are among the biggest violations.