Keep this in Mind

Here is a list of things to keep in mind for the next time you use an ATM.

• In July 2016, State Street Bank reached a $382 million settlement with DOJfor rigging foreign currency exchanges.
• In June 2014, the French bank BNP Paribas was ordered to pay $8.9 billion inpenalties by a U.S. district judge after pleading guilty to charges of violatingU.S. money laundering laws by conducting business in Sudan, Iran, and Cuba.
• In July 2016, HSBC was fined $1.9 billion, after senior DOJ officialsoverruled the recommendation by prosecutors to pursue criminal charges, forlaundering Mexican drug trafficking money, because it “could result in a globalfinancial disaster.”
• In May 2015, five banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, paid a $5.4billion fine after pleading guilty to “a brazen display of collusion and foreignexchange rate market manipulation,” according to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
• In February 2015, ten banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase,were investigated for tampering with the process of setting the price ofprecious metals for global markets.
• In March 2014, the FDIC accused sixteen big banks—including Bank of America,Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase—of fraud and conspiracy in an “epic plot” tomanipulate bank-to-bank interest rates that underpin at least $350 trillion(trillion!) in global financial transactions.
• In April 2011, Wachovia (since acquired by Wells Fargo) was fined forlaundering billions of dollars in illegal drug money. The federal prosecutorsaid, “Wachovia’s blatant disregard for our banking laws gave internationalcocaine cartels a virtual carte blanche to finance their operations.” The finewas less than 2 percent of the bank’s $12.3 billion profit in 2009.
• In July 2016, JPMorgan Chase paid $200 million to settle criminal and civilcharges related to bribing foreign officials.